Cyrene orCyrenaica was aGreek colony on theNorth African coast, in what is now northeasternLibya, founded byDorian settlers fromThera (modernSantorini) in the 7th century BC. Kings of Cyrene received a recurring posthumoushero cult like that of the Doriankings of Sparta.[1]
In 440 BC, Cyrene became a republic, underPersian suzerainty (as had been the latter kings from Arcesilaus III). Cyrene was conquered byAlexander the Great in 331 BC and fell to the portion ofPtolemy I in the division of Alexander's empire. In 276 BC it reasserted its independence.[citation needed]
In 249 BC Cyrene again became a republic, but was restored to Ptolemaic control in 246 BC byPtolemy III who married toBerenice II, Queen of Cyrene. From 163 BC, Cyrene occasionally had its own rulers from the Ptolemaic dynasty.
In 96 BC, the city became part of theRoman Republic, but it was restored to thePtolemies byMark Antony in 37 BC. In 34 BCCleopatra VII and Antony's daughter,Cleopatra Selene II, was made Queen of Cyrene, but the city returned to Rome followingAugustus' conquest ofEgypt in 30 BC.