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What role did Ptolemy I Soter serve in Alexander the Great’s bodyguard?
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Ptolemy I Soter
Ptolemy I Soter, portrait on a silver tetradrachm; in the British Museum
Ptolemy I Soter served as a personal bodyguard, or sōmatophylax, to Alexander the Great. Appointed to this role in the fall of 330 BCE, he was closely associated with Alexander during the advance through the Persian highland.1
In his capacity as a personal bodyguard, Ptolemy played a significant role in the capture of Bessus, the assassin of the Persian emperor Darius III, in 329 BCE. Following his successful military performance during the campaign from Bactria to the Indus River, he was later promoted to commander (triērarchos) of the Macedonian fleet on the Hydaspes.1