In a word, relations between Ptolemaic Egypt and the Roman Republic were complicated but I am going to force a few hundred more words on you talking about this so be warned.

From 323-225 BCE there is little to no evidence of any meaningful diplomatic contact between the two although both had an interest in what went on in Greece, Africa and Asia Minor. Rome and Egypt were for the most part indifferent to each other as the limits of the territory made them geographically and politically distant enough to not develop close bonds or serious hostilities. Even Carthage and most of the Greek city-states were too distant to come to the attention of the Ptolemies although Carthage and Egypt did struggle over Cyprus in the 3rd Century the island fell firmly into Ptolemaic hands. When it came to economy Egypt’s most important exports were grain, olive oil, wine, figs and other staples but at that early stage Sicily and Italy were more important and in truth Egypt’s agricultural and economic importance as a “bread-basket” did not reach the level often attributed to it until the 1st Century BCE, and particularly the latter half of the century at that. All in all, Rome and Egypt were certainly aware of each other but not particularly close in any way.

During the First Punic War Carthage did reach out to Egypt to ask for a loan to aid in their war with Rome however this was likely an indicator of desperation rather then friendly relations between Carthage and Egypt. Appian in his Histories references such an embassy being sent in 252:
BOTH Romans and Carthaginians were destitute of money; and the Romans could no longer build ships, being exhausted by taxes, yet they levied foot soldiers and sent them to Africa and Sicily from year to year, while the Carthaginians sent an embassy to Ptolemy, the son of Ptolemy the son of Lagus, king of Egypt, seeking to borrow 2000 talents. He was on terms of friendship with both Romans and Carthaginians, and he sought to bring about peace between them. As he was not able to accomplish this, he said: “It behooves one to assist friends against enemies, but not against friends.”
Livy states that after Rome’s victory in the Second Punic War
In the meanwhile, C. Claudianus Nero, M. Aemilius Lepidus, and P. Sempronius Tuditanus were sent on a mission to Ptolemy, King of Egypt, to announce the final defeat of Hannibal and the Carthaginians and to thank the king for having remained a staunch friend to Rome at a critical time, when even her nearest allies deserted her. They were further to request him, in case Philip’s aggressions compelled them to declare war against him, that he would maintain his own friendly attitude towards the Romans.
225-180: New Kings and Old Enmities
In 222 BCE Antiochus III (soon to be Antiochus the Great) is crowned king in the Seleucid Empire, in 221 Philip V is crowned king of Macedon and in the same year Ptolemy IV became king of Egypt (most of the power was then in the hands of his advisors) setting the stage for the conflicts to come. Antiochus III would form an alliance with Philip and attempt to invade and annex Coele-Syria from Ptolemy IV while Philip was also engaged with the Cretan War. Ptolemy dealt Antiochus a resounding defeat at the Battle of Raphia with the rapid conscription of maybe 30,000 Egyptian hoplites into the army who would then contribute to a domestic rebellion upon his death in 205. This rebellion would contribute to an already weakened Ptolemaic Kingdom and by 198 Coele-Syria and Ptolemaic Asia Minor would fall into his hands and Ptolemy V would put down the rebellion and then wed Antiochus III’s daughter Cleopatra I ensuring a temporary peace. Although not allied with Egypt in any concerted war effort, their involvement in the Macedonian Wars against Philip and the Seleucids would help to prevent Antiochus III from pursuing further conquests in Ptolemaic territory and their subsequent wars with Macedon and the Seleucids would see the diminishing of Ptolemaic Egypt’s rivals.
180-95 BCE:
In 180 Ptolemy V dies and the crown passes to his son by Cleopatra I, Ptolemy VI who was reputed to be acting under the influence of his more experienced courtiers when he decided that the time was right to try to reclaim their lost Asiatic territories in 170. This was a serious mistake as the Seleucid grip on Syria was still strong and the new king Antiochus IV sought to flex his muscle to the west and annex Cyprus and Egypt which were still in Ptolemaic hands. Antiochus successfully invaded and conquered Egypt leaving all but Alexandria uncaptured and capturing Ptolemy VI. Ptolemy VIII Physkos and Cleopatra II the siblings of Ptolemy VI were installed as co-rulers of Egypt in Alexandria in opposition to Antiochus and the captured Ptolemy and

169 Antiochus withdrew from Egypt after attempting to lay siege against Alexandria. Ptolemy VI now free reconciles with his siblings and they rule jointly from here on. But Antiochus IV invaded again the following year, having himself coronated as Pharaoh in Memphis and attempting to conquer the whole of Egypt and Cyprus and annexing the Ptolemaic Kingdom once and for all.

Now obviously this was upsetting to the Egyptians but this also raised some serious concerns for the Roman Republic. After all, Antiochus IV had himself ambitious and by seeking new territory to the west he was positioning himself in such a way as to threaten Rome’s dominance in the western Mediterranean and now he directly sought to impose himself as ruler rather than ruling through Ptolemy VI as a proxy.
At this point Rome stepped in and sought to curb the rapid expanse of Seleucid Empire. To this end they sent the Roman commander Gaius Popilius Laenas to mediate peace between both kingdoms and ensure that the Seleucid Empire did not grow too powerful through the annexation of Egypt. Polybius and Livy both state that Popilius intercepted Antiochus as he marched on Alexandria and presented him with the Senate’s decree that he cease his war in Egypt which was met with reluctance by Antiochus although he was quick to offer amity to Popilius. Polybius gives the most detailed account of when Popilius forced Antiochus to make his decision
Happening to have a vine stick in his hand, he (Popilius) drew a circle round Antiochus with it, and ordered him to give his answer to the letter before he stepped out of that circumference. The king was taken aback by this haughty proceeding. After a brief interval of embarrassed silence, he replied that he would do whatever the Romans demanded
Antiochus apparently decided that Egypt was not worth making an enemy of Rome. Polybius attributed Antiochus’s willingness to abandon his campaign to Rome’s victory over Macedon in his account:
Popilius and his colleagues then restored order in Alexandria; and after exhorting the two kings to maintain peaceful relations with each other, and charging them at the same time to send Polyaratus to Rome, they took ship and sailed towards Cyprus, with the intention of promptly ejecting from the island the forces that were also gathered there. When they arrived, they found that Ptolemy’s generals had already sustained a defeat, and that the whole island was in a state of excitement. They promptly caused the invading army to evacuate the country, and remained there to keep watch until the forces had sailed away for Syria. Thus did the Romans save the kingdom of Ptolemy, when it was all but sinking under its disasters. Fortune indeed so disposed of the fate of Perseus and the Macedonians, that the restoration of Alexandria and the whole of Egypt was decided by it; that is to say, by the fate of Perseus being decided previously: for if that had not taken place, or had not been certain, I do not think that Antiochus would have obeyed these orders.
The Seleucids would never invade Ptolemaic territory again and from here on Egyptian and Roman politics would gradually became intertwined. After this, civil war broke out between Ptolemy Physkos and Cleopatra II and Ptolemy VI was forced to flee the country and seek sanctuary in Rome in Oct. 164 BCE (the same year that Antiochus IV dies and the situation in Syria starts to unravel).

For the first but far from last time, the Roman Senate would act as guardian to the Ptolemaic Kingdom and made an arrangement of partitioning the kingdom between the warring siblings with Ptolemy VI to rule over Egypt and Cyprus with Cleopatra II and Ptolemy Physkos gaining sovereignty over Cyrene (in the area of modern Libya). As an aside, Physkos actually proposed to the prominent Roman matron Cornelia Africana but was turned down.

Ptolemy VI became embroiled in the dynastic struggles of the Seleucids by marrying his daughter Cleopatra Thea to Alexander Balas an impostor to the Seleucid throne who overthrew Demetrius I and successfully invading Syria in 145 to support Alexander Balas’ claim. Alexander Balas then became afraid that Ptolemy would seek to overthrow him in turn and made an unsuccessful assassination attempt against him which prompted Ptolemy to join forces with Demetrius II and remarry his daughter to the legitimate Seleucid instead. In placing Demetrius II on the throne he passed up an opportunity to annex Syria whose populace seemed to support him in favour of a Seleucid and his primary motivation for this was fear of alarming the Roman Republic in the same fashion Antiochus III and IV had.

Ptolemy VI died within a few days of this and Ptolemy Physkos married his sister Cleopatra and further civil wars continue to divide the Ptolemaic kingdom in their reign and for the next half century. Around 140 Scipio Aemilianus was said to have made a visit to Alexandria and made a remarked “We have given the Alexandrians a rare sight; their king taking a walk” under his breath to his companions (Physkos actually means pot-bellied or blood sausage).
Ptolemy Lathyros was chosen by Physkos before his death but Cleopatra II preferred her other son Alexander and Lathyros eventually found himself with Cyrene while Alexander ruled Egypt and Cyprus. Lathyros was successful in seizing Cyprus but could not hold it and Ptolemy Apion, an illegitimate son of Ptolemy Physkos, was made king of Cyrene and upon his death in 96 BCE he left it in his will to Rome. This sounds odd but at the time it was done by many client-kings to ensure their kingdoms stability and security after their own demise and Attalus of Pergamum had done this in 133.
95-50 BCE: When Rome had the will to take Egypt
Rome itself was unable to consider seizing the kingdom as they were engaged in the Social War which reverberated throughout the Republic and also in a conflict with the Kingdom of Pontus but this will, this legal cause for annexation would still shape things to come right up until the end of the Ptolemies and the Republic.

Although annexation was averted, the successor to the throne Ptolemy Alexander II was an illegitimate son of the former king who had lived in Italy and was personally chosen by the Roman dictator Sulla. He was married to Berenike III his stepmother and had her killed within a few weeks of their wedding which was unfortunate for him as it turned out that she was quite popular with the Alexandrians and Alexander II found himself lynched by the mob. As it turns out, it was alleged that his will also left the kingdom to Rome. Once more internal pressures would prevent Rome from acting. Around the same span of time Sulla was proclaimed dictator and he made numerous legal reforms and bloody proscriptions and when he resigned as dictator to run (successfully) for consul, Rome was still reeling.

With the fear of Sulla’s anger over Alexander II’s death or opportunistic politicians looking for a wealthy conquest laid to rest, the throne was quickly handed to Ptolemy XII Auletes another illegitimate son of Lathyros, in the hopes that Rome would accept him as the heir to their chosen Ptolemid. Auletes was also reputed to be drunkard and a devotee of the Dionysian Mysteries. His reign would mark the further degradation of the Ptolemaic dynasty and would come to rely on various influential Romans both financially and militarily. Although Rome became a crucial ally to the crown, harsh public sentiments seem to have developed, particularly in the Greek cities like Alexandria over Rome’s increasing power over Egyptian affairs and the economic hardships including heavy taxation and accelerated debasement of the currency caused in part by debts incurred to Roman financers by various monarchs.

His younger brother was made king of Cyprus and the two seem to have reigned in relative peace but although they both assumed the royal title neither had been formally recognized by Rome and yeah, this leads to more melodrama.

In 75 Antiochus XIII and Seleucus VII travelled with their mother Cleopatra Selene (daughter of Physkos) to Rome and presented their claims to the Egyptian throne even donating to the Temple of Jupiter to sweeten the deal but the Roman Senate had no interest in supporting their ascendancy. The trio remained in Rome for at least 2 years and Antiochus went on to be the Roman client king of Syria from 69 until Pompey had him killed in 64.

In 64 BCE a tribune named P. Servilius Rullus advocated the annexation of fertile Egypt as part of a set of agrarian reforms and to provide a profitable and popular military campaign for Julius Caesar and Marcus L. Crassus but this never gained much traction and the Roman Senate would remain opposed to the conquest of Egypt. In 63 BCE Auletes sent a large monetary tribute and offered 8,000 cavalry to support Pompey’s conquest of Judaea as well as an invitation to come to Egypt although this last offer was rejected.

In 60 with the formation of the First Triumvirate, Pompey, Crassus and Caesar formally recognized his reign and his status as a friend and ally of the Roman people, which might have had something to do with the massive bribes he paid out to them which saw him borrow more than 6,000 talents from Roman creditors but mostly from one man; Gaius Rabirius. To pay off these loans he raised taxes and levies in Egypt which rapidly dissolved his popularity, particularly in Alexandria.
In 58 BC the tribune Clodius Pulcher proposed that the King of Cyprus, who had not been formally recognized, be removed from power and Cyprus reorganized into a Roman province allegedly due to the will and because Ptolemy of Cyprus was colluding with pirates but in actuality because the spoils from Cyprus could help finance a grain dole Clodius wanted to push through. To this end, Cato the Younger was sent to handle the annexation of the island and when Cato sent a message to the king offering him a chance to retire in comfort from the throne he chose instead to commit suicide via poison. Cato was then able to peacefully subdue Cyprus and set about reorganizing the territory and collecting the profits and treasures of its conquest.

Back in Egypt this caused further unrest, not only was Auletes offering money and troops to the Romans to protect his throne but now his own brother was dead and the last outlying territory in the Ptolemaic Empire was gone, making it no longer an empire by any stretch of the imagination. Auletes fled to Rome after being exiled by a swift and vigorous rebellion which saw his wife Cleopatra Tryphaena and daughter Berenike although Tryphaena died within the year leaving her daughter as sole ruler. Along the way he way he encountered Cato in Cyprus who insulted him by addressing him while seated (possibly on the toilet) and advised that he return to Egypt and attempt to gain the favour of the people that he might be better able to bribe the allies he would need in Rome. Nevertheless, Ptolemy was undeterred and continued on to Rome.
Auletes was extended the hospitality of his patron and ally Pompey but receiving the support of Rome in retaking his lost throne proved more trying although at first the Senate supported him and the proconsul Lentulus was tasked with his restoration. Then an embassy was sent from Alexandria made up of 100 respected and influential spokespersons and led by a philosopher named Dion to plead their case against Auletes and persuade the Roman Senate not to reinstate him as king. Naturally the first thing Auletes did was have Dion and most of the others assassinated but this was apparently angering to the Roman Senate. Not only did he receive little support from the Senate but a passage was supposedly found in the Syballine Books prophesying that if Rome ever lent military aid to an Egyptian king disaster would follow.

He departed Rome for the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus in 57 after paying out hefty bribes while it was decided what would be done. Aulus Gabinius, governor of Syria and ally of Pompey argued that a hostile Egypt was a naval threat and pressure from Ptolemy’s loaners who sought a return on their investment helped to enforce this. You see in addition to the 6,000 talents he paid to Pompey, Crassus, and Caesar each, he now owed an additional 10,000 to the parties responsible for his restoration, namely Gabinius, Pompey and Caesar.

By 55 Gabinius was successful in defeating Berenike and her new husband Archelaus, a noble from Syria who was highly thought of by Pompey and Marc Antony (then a lieutenant of Gabinius) with the latter giving him a noble burial after defeating him. Rabirius had accompanied Gabinius to ensure his investments were well looked after and remained in Egypt where Auletes appointed him minister of finances, a clever move which appeased Rabirius and allowed Auletes to shift the blame for the heavy economic burden away from himself. As minister of coin, Rabirius proved himself to be the exact wrong man for the job and in his defense, even for all he drained the financial and agricultural resources he drained from Egypt it did not even come close to Ptolemy’s debts. Still, people do not like it when you ruin their economy and within a year Ptolemy locked him up to appease the people before sending him off to Rome where he faced charges for extortion and general shadiness. It is not known what the outcome of his trial was but he appears on the political scene again 8 years later. Gabinius also stood trial for acting beyond his authority and taking bribes and spent seven years in exile before returning to politics.
Gabinius left behind around 2,500 roman legionaries, many of whom were of German and Gallic extraction, as a garrison in Alexandria both to protect the kings interests and to enforce Roman interests. The Gabiniani, as they are known, were quick to assimilate into their new homeland and were estranged from and disavowed by Rome within a few years, acting as mercenaries of the Ptolemies and even starting families in Egypt, although tensions still arose between the foreign soldiers and Alexandrians as apparently there were incidents of them insulting locals or getting into altercations with local women which only exacerbated cultural and ethnic tensions.
Sometime around 51 Ptolemy Auletes died and left Egypt to his daughter Cleopatra and son Ptolemy XIII naming Rome as the executor of his will and it was this situation and legacy that they inherited. Cleopatra for her part was quick to attempt to seize sole power but she made the mistake of alienating the Gabiniani and the Alexandrians. In 50 BCE Bibulus, an ally of Pompey sent his sons to ask for Egypt’s support (in the form of reinforcements) in the Parthian war which was starting to go badly. The lieutenants of the Gabiniani assassinated both of Bibulus’ sons in the hopes that they would not have to fight the Parthians. Cleopatra seeking to make amends for their brash actions handed the officers responsible over to Bibulus in chains earning the anger of the Gabiniani.
50- BCE: Two for one civil wars

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Hellenistic Egypt
Sometime around 51 Ptolemy Auletes died and left Egypt to his daughter Cleopatra and son Ptolemy XIII naming Rome as the executor of his will and it was this situation and legacy that they inherited. Cleopatra for her part was quick to attempt to seize sole power but she made the mistake of alienating the Gabiniani and the Alexandrians. In 50 BCE Bibulus, an ally of Pompey sent his sons to ask for Egypt’s support (in the form of reinforcements) in the Parthian war which was starting to go badly. The lieutenants of the Gabiniani assassinated both of Bibulus’ sons in the hopes that they would not have to fight the Parthians. Cleopatra seeking to make amends for their brash actions handed the officers responsible over to Bibulus in chains earning the anger of the Gabiniani.

50- BCE: Two for one civil wars

In 50 BCE civil war broke out between Caesar and Pompey, tearing apart the Roman world from Italy to the eastern client-kingdoms. At the beginning of the war in early 49 Cleopatra and Ptolemy met with Gnaeus Pompeius Minor the son of Pompey, and gave him 60 ships, 500 Gabinian cavalry and much needed supplies. By the end of the year however, the tensions and power struggles which had been increasing between Cleopatra, Ptolemy and their respective supporters came to a head and Cleopatra was forced from the capital and eventually fled to Syria.

Caesar eventually dealt Pompey a crushing defeat at Pharsalus, the defeated general went to Egypt in search of sanctuary. As Appian accounts
they all agreed about going to Egypt, which was near and was a great kingdom, still prosperous and abounding in ships, provisions, and money. Its sovereigns, although children, were allied to Pompey by their father’s friendship. For these reasons he sailed to Egypt.
Despite Ptolemy’s assurance that he was welcome, the advisors to the king were eager to curry favour with Caesar and Appian further states that
The servants of Pothinus cut off Pompey’s head and kept it for Cæsar, in expectation of a large reward, but he visited condign punishment on them for their nefarious deed.
Julius Caesar arrived in Egypt around September of 48 in hot pursuit of his rival but was apparently both grieved and disgusted at being presented with his head and at learning of the nature of his demise. Caesar carried himself with all the aloof imperiousness of his rank and greatly irritated both Ptolemy’s advisors (namely the eunuch Pothinus and tutor to the king) as well as the Alexandrians, he also demanded the repayment of Ptolemy Auletes’ debt and looked to settle the dispute between Ptolemy and Cleopatra himself. Ptolemy’s supporters were also quite dismissive of Caesar which helped to worsen the relationship between the two and before long, conflict between the meager forces of Caesar and the armies of Ptolemy XIII broke out in Alexandria. And the Alexandrian Wars began which is where I am going to leave off for now because it is so late the birds are waking up and I have an overdue essay.
Sources:
Egypt in the Age of Cleopatra by Michel Chauveau

The Reign of Cleopatra by Steven Burstein

Egypt Under the Ptolemies by J.G. Manning

The Hellenistic Age by Peter Thonemann

From Samarkhand to Sardis: A New Approach to the Seleucid Empire by Susan Sherwin-White and Amelie Kurht

Plutarch’s Lives

Appian’s The Histories

Livy’s Roman History

Dio’s Rome

Strabo’s Geographia

Julius Caesar’s (supposedly) Di Bello Alexandrini