In the distribution of Alexander's empire after…

In the distribution of Alexander's empire after his death, Cleomenes, a Greek of Naucratis, had been left in Egypt as hyparch under Ptolemy, who puts him to death on the suspicion of his favoring Perdiccas.

The effect, if not also a cause, of this act is that Ptolemy comes into possession of the treasures of Cleomenes, which amount to eight thousand talents.

As satrap of Egypt, with the adjacent Libyan and Arabian regions, Ptolemy will methodically take advantage of the geographic isolation of the Nile territory to make it a great Hellenistic power.

He takes steps to improve internal administration.

Alexandria, which from its inception had been meant to embody its founder great idea of a fusion of races and cultures in his planned empire, seems to have included Jews among its earliest settlers.

The Jewish population will grow to be substantial, with an Jewish community well established in the city by the middle of the third century BCE.