cleopatra's personal rule of egypt followed the model of virtual absolute monarchy that had existed in the kingdom of macedon in northern greece, the homeland of alexander the great, before he and his successors, the "diadochi", spread this style of monarchy throughout the conquered achaemenid persian empire. classical greece (480–336 bc) had contained a variety of city-states (i.e. "poleis") possessing various forms of government, including democracy and oligarchy. these city-states continued to have these forms of government in hellenistic greece (336–146 bc) and even later roman greece. they were heavily influenced and in many cases dominated by the hellenistic monarchies of the antigonid, seleucid, and ptolemaic realms. beginning with the reign of ptolemy i soter, founder of the ptolemaic dynasty, the ptolemaic kingdom had fought a series of conflicts—the syrian wars—against the seleucid empire over control of syria. cleopatra's kingdom was based in egypt but she desired to expand it and incorporate territories of north africa, west asia, and the eastern mediterranean basin that had belonged to her illustrious ancestor ptolemy i soter.