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In 332, Alexander the Great conquered Egypt. The Cyrenaican Greeks submitted to him, happy to have a Greek king who aspired to unite all Greeks. After his death, in 323, his Empire was divided between his generals. Cyrenaica was first part of Ptolemaic Egypt, before becoming an independent Kingdom in 276, under King Magas of Cyrene.
Magas of Cyrene
Magas of Cyrene was a Greek nobleman of Macedonian background. His father Philip, an officer of Alexander the Great, died when he was a child.
After his father died, his mother Berenice went to live with her children in Alexandria, at the court of King Ptolemy I Soter, whose wife, Eurydice, was the cousin of Berenice.
Berenice quickly became the mistress of Ptolemy I. In 317, he repudiated Eurydice to marry her. As the Queen of Egypt, she became the mother of the future king Ptolemy II.
Through his mother’s marriage, young Magas became a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, as the son of the queen.
When Magas was around 20 years old, he was named governor of Cyrenaica, succeeding Ophellas.
After Ptolemy I died in 283, and Magas’ half-brother Ptolemy II Philadelphus became the new King of Egypt, Magas started working towards achieving the independence of Cyrenaica. For this, he made an alliance with King Antiochus I of Syria, from the Seleucid dynasty – the arch-rivals of the Ptolemy – by marrying his daughter Apama II. In 276, Magas finally proclaimed himself King of Cyrenaica.
In 274, Magas and Antiochus attacked Egypt together, from the East and the West, but Magas was forced to draw back because of a revolt of Amazighes Libyan tribes in Marmarica.
After this revolt, Ptolemy II was forced to recognize the independence of Cyrenaica. To seal their alliance, Berenice II, the daughter of Magas, was betrothed to the son of Ptolemy II, future King Ptolemy III Euergetes. From then on, peace prevailed between the two half-brothers.
Cyrenaica remained an independent Kingdom for all Magas’ life. During Magas’ reign, he favored the development of arts and culture, especially the Cyrenaic philosophical school. He also received Buddhist emissaries from India, sent by Emperor Ashoka. In the last years of his life, he became so fat that he was no longer able to move. He died in 250, possibly from health consequences due to his excessive eating.
Aftermath
After Magas’ death, his widow broke the betrothal between Berenice II and Ptolemy III, and offered her daughter’s hand in marriage to Demetrius the Fair, the youngest son of King Demetrius I of Macedonia. Demetrius the Fair accepted, and became the new King of Cyrenaica, but he was soon assassinated by Berenice II herself, who returned to her first fiance. Ptolemy III and Berenice II got married and became King and Queen of Egypt. The city of Euhesperides (Benghazi) was renamed Berenice, in honor of the new Queen. Cyrenaica was again part of Ptolemaic Egypt, but with strong autonomy. Ptolemy III built a new city, Ptolemais, as the home of the governor of Cyrenaica.
In 163, Ptolymy VIII Physcon, after he was expelled of Egypt by his brother Ptolemy VI Philometor, settled in Cyrene. He reigned over Cyrenaica as a vassal oh his brother until 145, when he was reestablished as king of Egypt. In 105, he established his son Ptolemy Apion on the throne of Cyrenaica. Ptolemy Apion died in 96. As he had no heir, his Kingdom was bequeathed to Rome.
