1/8: The Last Dynasty: Ancient Egypt from Alexander the Great to Cleopatra Hardcover – April 8, 2025 by Toby Wilkinson (Author) https://www.amazon.com/Last-Dynasty-Ancient-Alexander-Cleopatra/dp/1324052031 Alexander the Great and Cleopatra may be two

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John Batchelor

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🗓️ 17 May 2025

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1/8:
The Last Dynasty: Ancient Egypt from Alexander the Great to Cleopatra Hardcover – April 8, 2025
by Toby Wilkinson (Author)

https://www.amazon.com/Last-Dynasty-Ancient-Alexander-Cleopatra/dp/1324052031

Alexander the Great and Cleopatra may be two of the most famous figures from the ancient world, but the Egyptian era bookended by their lives―the Ptolemaic period (305–30 BC)―is little known. In The Last Dynasty, New York Times best-selling author Toby Wilkinson unravels the incredible story of this turbulent era, bringing to life three centuries’ worth of extraordinary moments and charismatic figures.
Macedonian in origin and Greek-speaking, the Ptolemies presided over the final flourishing of pharaonic civilization. Wilkinson describes the extraordinary cultural reach displayed at the height of their power: how they founded new cities, including Alexandria, their great seaside residence and commercial capital; mined gold in the furthest reaches of Nubia; built spectacular new temples that are among the foremost architectural wonders of the Nile Valley; and created a dazzling civilization that produced astonishing works of sculpture, architecture, and literature. Stunningly, he also shows how such expansionist ambitions led to the era’s downfall. The Ptolemaic period was a time when ancient Egypt turned its gaze westward―in the process becoming the unwitting handmaid to the inexorable rise of Rome and the consequent loss of Egyptian independence.

Featuring a superb blend of first-rate scholarship and evocative narrative history, The Last Dynastyprovides fresh insights into this overlooked period of history and its legacy in shaping the world as we know it.
1907

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0:00.0	This is CBS Eye on the World. Here's John Batchelor.
0:12.0	This is CBS, I on the World. I'm John Batchelor. I welcome Professor Toby Wilkinson.
0:18.0	His new book, The Last Dynasty, Ancient Egypt from Alexander the Great to Cleopatra, is a sweeping presentation of two worlds, the Macedonian from Alexander and the Egyptian from the pharaohs.
0:35.0	It's a blend that the professor makes a very good case, leaves it too late
0:41.5	for Egyptologists and too early for Roman historians. Well, these 300 years tell us everything about
0:48.1	the Mediterranean world as Rome was gathering its might before it conquers everything.
0:56.4	We begin, however, with Alexander.
1:00.1	Alexander conquers the world, but when he gets to Egypt,
1:04.0	there are moments where he thinks about why and how he got to be so powerful.
1:11.5	Professor, a very good day to you.
1:13.8	Thank you very much for this.
1:15.4	Congratulations.
1:16.7	And we go to Alexander's decision to conquer Gaza before he marched on Egypt.
1:24.2	The decision you present is he wanted to show that he was all powerful, there was no
1:29.4	resisting him. And he built up a wall around Gaza, the same Gaza we're talking about today,
1:35.3	the same piece of land, the sandy beaches, the Mediterranean, built up a wall and uses his siege
1:41.1	engines and conquers a city. But there's a moment here where Alexander
1:45.5	shows he has an imagination. He carries around a copy of Homer, and he knows what happened
1:53.4	once they got into the Homeric story of conquering Troy. There was a moment where a decision was made to drag a man to death around the city.
2:06.4	Who was it that Alexander perpetrated that on and why?
2:10.6	Why did Alexander become so cruel that he wanted to the wrath of Achilles, why did he want to live that scene out?
2:20.6	Good evening to you.
	...

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