公元前332年，亞山大大帝在幾乎沒有遇到波斯人抵抗的情況下，被埃及人當成解放者占領這片土地。亞山大的繼承者托勒密仿照埃及模式建立政府機構，定都亞山大。這座城市試圖展現希臘統治者的權威，以著名的亞山大圖書館為核心，成為文化和學的中心。 亞山大燈塔照亮許多船的航程，保證城市間貿易的暢通。托勒密統治者將商業和創收行業作為展首選，例如紙莎草紙的製造業。
希臘文明沒有取代埃及的傳統文明，托勒密王朝的統治者扶持埃及歷史悠久的傳統以保證人民的忠誠。他們建立埃及風格的神廟，維護傳統的宗教儀式，把自己描繪成法老。兩文明的許多傳統融受不了，希臘和埃及的諸神融為兼具多重神性，如塞拉皮斯（Serapis）。古典希臘風格的雕塑也影響傳統埃及的藝題材。儘管希臘統治者試圖緩和埃及人的情緒，托勒密王朝還是面臨叛亂、族權力爭，以及伴隨托勒密四世之死而來的亞山大亞的暴亂。。此外，由於羅馬嚴重依賴埃及的糧食進口，羅馬人對埃及的政治狀況也大有興趣。持續不斷的叛亂、野心勃勃的政治和強大的敘利亞對手動搖王朝統治，以至埃及淪為羅馬的保護國，最終成一個行省。
Ptolemaic Egypt began when Ptolemy I Soter declared himself Pharaoh of Egypt in 305 BC and ended with the death of queen Cleopatra of Egypt and the Roman conquest in 30 BC. The Ptolemaic Kingdom was a powerful Hellenistic state, extending from southern Syria in the east, to Cyrene to the west, and south to the frontier with Nubia. Alexandria became the capital city and a center of Greek culture and trade. To gain recognition by the native Egyptian populace, they named themselves as the successors to the Pharaohs. The later Ptolemies took on Egyptian traditions, had themselves portrayed on public monuments in Egyptian style and dress, and participated in Egyptian religious life. Hellenistic culture continued to thrive in Egypt well after the Muslim conquest. The Ptolemies faced rebellions of native Egyptians often caused by an unwanted regime and were involved in foreign and civil wars that led to the decline of the kingdom and its annexation by Rome.