Kiutamaduni Waptolemaio walikuwa Wagiriki lakini walijitahidi kutumia mapokeo ya Misri kwa utawala wao. Walikaa katika mji mkuuAleksandria uliokuwa pia mji wenye ustaarabu wa Kigiriki ulioundwa na Aleksander Mashuhuri mwenyewe alipovamia Misri kwenye mwaka 332/331 KK. Malkia wa mwisho Kleopatra alikuwa Mptolemaio wa kwanza aliyeongea Kimisri fasaha.
Katika karne ya pili ya utawala wao walirudi katika mji mkuu wa kale Memphis kwa ibada ya kupokea ufalme na taji la Misri kila baada ya kifo cha mfalme na kuingia mfalme mpya.
Walipokea pia desturi ya Kimisri kwamba farao aliweza kuoa dada yake [7] na Waptolemaio wengi walizaliwa katika ndoa za aina hiyo.
Mafarao, yaani watawala wa kiume, walitumia jina rasmi "Ptolemaio" na tangu mwaka 193 KK malkia wote walitumia jina "Kleopatra" lililo mashuhuri hasa kutokana na malkia wa mwisho, Kleopatra VIII aliyefariki wakati wa uvamizi wa Kiroma akiwa mtawala wa mwisho wa Misri huru na wa nasaba yake.
Ptolemaio I Soter (303–282 KK) alimwoa kwanza Thaïs, halafu Artakama, halafu Eurydice, na mwishowe Berenike I
Ptolemaio II Philadelphus (285–246 KK)[8] alimwoa Arsinoe I, halafu Arsinoe II; alitawala pamoja na Ptolemaio Epigonos (267–259 KK)
Ptolemaio III Euergetes (246–221 KK) alimwoa Berenike II
Ptolemaio IV Philopator (221–203 KK) alimwoa Arsinoe III
Ptolemaio V Epiphanes (203–181 KK) alimwoa Kleopatra I Syra
Ptolemaio VI Philometor (181–164 KK, 163–145 KK) alimwoa Kleopatra II, alitawala kifupi pamoja na Ptolemaio Eupator in 152 KK
Ptolemaio VII Neos Philopator (hakutawala)
Ptolemaio VIII Physcon (170–163 KK, 145–116 KK) alimwoa Kleopatra II, halafu Kleopatra III; alifukuzwa kutoka Aleksandria na Kleopatra II kuanzia 131 hadi 127 KK, halafu walipatanisha 124 KK.
Kleopatra II Philometora Soteira (131–127 KK), kwa upinzani dhidi ya Ptolemaio VIII Physcon
|Kleopatra III Philometor Soteira Dikaiosyne Nikephoros (Kokke) (116–101 KK) alitawala pamoja na Ptolemaio IX Lathyros (116–107 KK) na Ptolemaio X Alexander I (107–101 KK)
Ptolemaio IX Lathyros (116–107 KK, 88–81 KK as Soter II) alimwoa Kleopatra IV, halafu Kleopatra Selene wa Syria; alitawala pamoja na Kleopatra III katika kipindi chake cha kwanza
Ptolemaio X Alexander I (107–88 KK) alimwoa Kleopatra Selene, halafu Berenike III; alitawala pamoja na Kleopatra III till 101 KK
Berenike III Philopator (81–80 KK)
Ptolemaio XI Alexander II (80 KK) alimwoa na alitawala pamoja na Berenike III kabla ya kumwua; akaendelea kutawala kwa siku 19.
Ptolemaio XII (80–58 KK, 55–51 KK) alimwoa Kleopatra V Tryphaena
Kleopatra V Tryphaena (58–57 KK) alitawala pamoja na Berenike IV Epiphaneia (58–55 KK) na Kleopatra VI Tryphaena (58 KK)
Kleopatra ("Kleopatra VII Philopator", 51–30 KK) alitawala pamoja na Ptolemaio XIII Theos Philopator (51–47 KK), Ptolemaio XIV (47–44 KK) na Ptolemaio XV Caesarion (44–30 KK).
Arsinoe IV (48–47 KK), kwa upinzani dhidi ya Kleopatra
Epiphanius of Salamis, however, puts the total number of years of the Ptolemy dynasty at 306. See: Epiphanius' Treatise on Weights and Measures - The Syriac Version (ed. James Elmer Dean), University of Chicago Press 1935, p. 28 (note 104), or what was from 306/5 BCE to 1 CE.
Jones, Prudence J. (2006). Cleopatra: A Sourcebook. University of Oklahoma Press. uk.14. They were members of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Macedonians, who ruled Egypt after the death of its conqueror, Alexander the Great.
Pomeroy, Sarah B. (1990). Women in Hellenistic Egypt. Wayne State University Press. uk.16. while Ptolemaic Egypt was a monarchy with a Greek ruling class.
Redford, Donald B., mhr. (2000). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press. Cleopatra VII was born to Ptolemy XII Auletes (80–57 BCE, ruled 55–51 BCE) and Cleopatra, both parents being Macedonian Greeks.
Bard, Kathryn A., mhr. (1999). Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt. Routledge. uk.488. Ptolemaic kings were still crowned at Memphis and the city was popularly regarded as the Egyptian rival to Alexandria, founded by the Macedonians.