b. 308 BC, d. 246 BC (Egypt)
Ptolemy II became ruler of Egypt first alongside his father Ptolemy I and after his father's death in 283/282 in his own right. He brought the Macedonian ruling house even closer to Egyptian tradition than his father, dismissing his first wife and marrying his sister (as had been frequent practice for the pharaos). He continued the personality cult established by his father and had statues of himself as pharaoh erected.
Ptolemy II participated in the various wars of the region but with varying success. He was more adept at diplomacy, marrying his daughter with one of his enemies and thus securing the future of his kingdom. He established Egyptian embassies in Rome and India.
Making use of the large available peasant workforce, Ptolemy developed the Egyptian agriculture, trade and commerce into a planned economy. The countryside had to provide the wealth for the rapid development of Alexandria which during his reign rose from a recently founded new capital to the world's most important city of the time. Artists, poets and literary men from around the Mediterranean Sea and further afield were attracted to the Egyptian capital.
Generous support went to his father's foundations the Mouseion (Museum) and the library, which became the centre of all European knowledge. Unlike many Greek schools the Mouseion included not only philosophy and literature but also mathematics and the sciences. As a result, many famous Greek scientists spent time to study in Alexandria.
Ptolemy II lowered lake Qarun of the al-Fayyum region to its present level, gaining much valuable fertile land. The lighthouse for the port of Alexandria, one of the "Seven Wonders of the World", was erected under Ptolemy II's reign.