Ptolemy I Soter rivals after Alexander's death. For example, Arrian's account of the fall of Thebes in 335 BC ("Anabasis" , a rare section of narrative explicitly attributed to Ptolemy by Arrian) shows several significant variations from the parallel account preserved in Diodorus Siculus (17.11–12), most notably in attributing a distinctly unheroic role in proceedings to Perdiccas. More recently, J. Roisman has argued that the case for Ptolemy's blackening of Perdiccas and others has been much exaggerated. Ptolemy personally sponsored the great mathematician Euclid. He found Euclid's seminal work, the "Elements", too difficult to study, so he asked if there were an easier
Reign of Cleopatra and introduced relief efforts such as releasing grain from the royal granary. Both Ptolemy XII and Cleopatra VII found it necessary to debase Ptolemaic coinage due to financial troubles. No gold coins are known from Cleopatra's reign, while use of bronze coins was revived (absent since the reign of Ptolemy IX) and silver currency was debased roughly 40% by the end of her reign. Coins struck under Cleopatra's reign came from a wide geographical expanse, including sites in Egypt like Alexandria, but also the island of Cyprus, Antioch, Damascus and Chalcis ad Belum in Syria, Tripolis in Phoenicia, Askalon in