Speaking of ancient Egypt, the first thing that people think of may be the majestic and mysterious pyramids, sphinxes, the pharaoh's tomb and the mummies inside, and all kinds of rare treasures. But there is another difference in ancient Egypt, that is, close relatives of the royal family get married.
Now we know that the offspring born from close relatives will have a high probability of suffering from genetic diseases, but why did the ancient Egyptian royal family adhere to this "tradition"?
After Pharaoh Egypt, Ptolemy’s family will rule Egypt for nearly 300 years, until it is annexed by Rome. During this period, all male rulers of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt will be named Tuo Le Mi.
Ptolemy Egypt inherited many traditions of Pharaoh Egypt, including the marriage of close relatives, and the main form is "brother and sister marriage", usually by marrying one's own sister or younger sister.
For example, Ptolemy II, his sister is Arcino II, after the death of the two husbands of Arcino II, she returned to Egypt. So Ptolemy II married his sister and made her queen.
Why is this? One very important reason is that only by doing this can the Egyptians be regarded as the true "heirs of the pharaohs", because the Egyptian royal family of the pharaohs has always had this kind of tradition. Only by following this "orthodox" can the throne be declared legality".
Further on, it is really dazzling: Ptolemy III married his cousin Bellenice II as his wife. Ptolemy IV married his sister Arcino III.
Ptolemy V had no sisters, so he had to marry the daughter of Antiochus III, who was Cleopatra I. Ptolemy VI married his sister Cleopatra II.
Ptolemy IX married Cleopatra IV. Ptolemy XII and Cleopatra VI married, Cleopatra VII and Ptolemy XIII were married.
Of course, in addition to the form of "brother and sister marriage", , and even also have father-daughter marriage and mother-child marriage. For example: Ptolemy VIII married her niece Cleopatra III as his wife.
In fact, no matter which of these three forms, this kind of marriage has no love foundation, and the purpose is very clear. It is not to strengthen the royal power and maintain blood ties, or to maintain national security. .
Then, why did the ancient Egyptians have the idea that "marriage between close relatives is the royal orthodoxy"?
This is because in the eyes of the ancient Egyptians, their king is a descendant of God (also called "the descendant of the sun"). Kings are the incarnations of gods on earth, and they will ascend to heaven after death. And how can the incarnation of God marry ordinary people and have children?
In fact, this kind of marriage system did maintain the dynasty rule to a certain extent. It would not form a powerful foreign group like some dynasties in ancient China and threaten the dominance of the royal family.
However, this system has also contributed to the desire of women in the royal family for power. They often compete with men for the throne, and will also trigger civil wars.
So in the middle and late period of Ptolemy Egypt, contradictions in the royal family, social contradictions, contradictions with the Seleucid Kingdom abroad, and the strong influence of Rome, made Ptolemy Egypt into a situation of domestic and foreign difficulties. Finally, Ptolemy Egypt was conquered by Rome.
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