Though Egypt boasts an illustrious 3,000-year history, its current outlook owes more to the invasion of Alexander the Great in 332BC. Both Alexander and Ptolemy, the general who inherited Egypt after his death, used the traditional Egyptian titles and forms of representation to quickly win the local support necessary to govern the country. Ptolemy also set about transforming Egypt into a modern intellectual and cultural metropolis by sponsoring artists and writers from all around the Hellenistic world to populate his capital at Alexandria./n/nHowever, conflict between successive generations of Ptolemies, combined with foreign aggression and local uprisings, has caused a slow decline in Egypt’s international influence. Rome has become increasingly dependent on Egypt for grain, and is slowly bringing it into their sphere of influence by supporting different members of the feuding family. Cleopatra, the current monarch, has expertly courted this external power to secure her position, and managed to remain in Roman favour through two successive changes of leadership, transferring her support from Pompey to Caesar to Mark Antony as circumstances changed./n/nWith its vast grain production, and its principal trade ports in Alexandria and on the Red Sea, Egypt is one of the most profitable areas of the Mediterranean. If these advantages are properly exploited, Egypt has the potential to rise beyond the heights of its former supremacy.
