This is CBSI of the world. I'm John Batchez, speaking to the Egyptologists. It's great joy, Toby.

Great joy to talk to an Egyptologist whose new book, The Last Dynasty, it's about Egypt.

Too late for the Egyptologists, mostly, not Toby, and too early for the Roman historians

who care about Cicero.

Now me, because Toby's filled in the bit between.

Ptolemy himself is a man who's born with an understanding of the world via the Macedonians.

And for reasons having to do with court intrigue, he and Alexander study under Aristotle.

You know, Toby, except for the fact that this is history, it doesn't, you can't make this stuff up.

You really can't. I mean, how extraordinary

to have had Aristotle as your tutor and to have learnt alongside the future Alexander the Great.

I mean, what an extraordinary start in light. And, you know, the thing about Ptolemy the first,

and he is the sort of founding figure of the Ptolemy dynasty, I think he is

looked, he's overlooked by historians, because what he manages to achieve in Egypt is quite

remarkable. He's a great general himself. He has served at Alexander's side in many of the great battles.

He's also a very learned man. He's, he's a deep thinker. He's a great scholar. And he's also a

brilliant strategist. And, you know, the rest of Alexander's generals, when they inherit bits

of Alexander's empire at his death, they try and go about

ruling them as if they're just Greek city states, not Ptolemy. He recognizes that Egypt is an ancient

culture, it's a very proud civilization, and he brings Egyptians into his government, and he listens

to them and he learns from them.

And from the outset, he's deliberately trying to blend the Greek culture with the pharaonic Egyptian culture,

take the best of both and create a kind of hybrid culture which will thrive.

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