Vienna & Ptolomeic Egypt

In conversation with a friend:

I really wonder if the end of Ptolomeic Egypt was as ugly and degraded as that, or if the Romans exaggerated.  I suspect it was." "It could very well have been that degraded. I think that a country can hold its status and reputation for longer than it actual sustains it, until there is an outside threat and then the end is quick. Ptolomeic Egypt could have safely degraded as it was the breadbasket of the Mediterranean, it was at peace with Rome and Rome had more or less made the whole Mediterranean a safe zone. Nobody was going to mess with Egypt or anyplace else in Rome ’s sphere of influence. So Egypt could go soft and nobody notice. Also Egypt rode its reputation as one of the major players in the ancient world, and was still considered a font of culture. Young Romans in search of a “real”  spiritual experience would usually go to Egypt, sort of like going to Tibet or India nowadays, so Egypt still commanded some respect. Everyone knew it had diminished, but it was not until it messed with Rome that it became apparent how rotten the place was on the inside. Its diminished role, also made the culture turn more inward and petty internal politics got more attention, as an almost willful self distraction from the fact that it was no longer really a player on the international stage. It makes me think of Vienna ; a protected pageant of former grandeur to distract from the general irrelevance of the place geopolitically."