Name held by a succession of 15 Hellenistic rulers of Egypt from 305/304 to 30 BC. The Ptolemaic period is often taken to include the brief preceding Macedonian phase (332-305 BC), encompassing the reigns of Alexander the Great (332-323 BC), his half-brother Philip Arrhidaeus (323-317 BC), and his son Alexander IV (317-310 BC). Ptolemy I Soter (b 367/366 or 364 BC-d 283/282, Egypt), Macedonian general of Alexander the Great, became ruler of Egypt (323-285 BC) and founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty. The dynasty reigned longer than any other dynasty and only succumbed to the Romans in 30 BC after Cleopatra VII's death.