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Why was the League of Islanders important to Egypt’s power in the Mediterranean?
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Ptolemy I Soter
Ptolemy I Soter, portrait on a silver tetradrachm; in the British Museum
The League of Islanders was a confederation of Greek islands in the Aegean Sea originally established by Antigonus Monophthalmus in 315 BCE. During a coalition war between 288 and 286 BCE, Ptolemy I Soter secured a protectorate over this league.
This alliance was vital to Egypt’s power because it provided the foundation for the country's maritime supremacy in the Mediterranean during the ensuing decades. By controlling the league, Ptolemy was able to project influence across the Aegean and maintain a dominant naval presence in the eastern Mediterranean, which was essential for securing his empire and managing the shifting political landscape of the post-Alexandrian era.12