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The Macedonian Conquest of Egypt in 332 BC

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The Macedonian Conquest of Egypt in 332 BC • His family. • Egypt under his reign. • The fourth Syrian war & the battle of Raphia (219-217 BC). He was the son of Ptolemy III Euergetes and Berenice II. He was the fourth king of Ptolemaic Egypt. He ruled from 221 to 205 BC (about 16 years). He began his reign by putting to death his uncle Lysimachus, his brother Magas, and his mother Berenice II. In 220 BC he married his sister Arsinoe III, but continued to be ruled by his mistress Agathoclea, the sister of his minister Agathocles. Philopator founded the little temple of Hathor at Deir el- Medina. The decline of the Ptolemaic realm began under his reign. He was a member of Dionysius’ guild. He built a temple to Homer. He built a giant ship known as the tessarakonteres (forty). In 223 BC, Antiochus III became king of the Seleucid kingdom. In 221 BC, Philopator ascended the throne of Egypt. In 219 BC Antiochus III captured Coele-Syria, while the ministers of Philopator, Sosibius and Agathocles, began to make serious preparations to meet the attacks of Antiochus III. In 217 BC, the great Egyptian victory of Raphia secured the northern borders of the Ptolemaic kingdom for the remainder of Philopator’s reign. Ptolemy owed his victory in part to having a properly equipped and trained native Egyptian phalanx, which for the first time formed a large proportion of his phalangites (infantrymen). Strength of Ptolemy IV Strength of Antiochus III 70,000 infantry 62,000 infantry 5,000 cavalry 6,000 cavalry 73 elephants 102 elephants Casualties of Ptolemy IV Casualties of Antiochus III 1,500 foot 10,000 foot 700 horse 300 horse 16 elephants killed 5 elephants killed 26 captured 4,000 captured The participation of the Egyptians in this war led to the secession of Upper Egypt under Pharaohs Haronnophris and his successor Khaonnophris. In Greek official documents of Upper Egypt, this period is referred to as tarachy (chaos). Following these revolts, the east bank of Thebes was administratively attached to the Peritheban nome, while the west bank was added to the Hermonthite nome, with Hermonthis as a metropolis. • Egypt under his reign. • The fifth Syrian war and the battle of Panium (200/198 BC). He was son of Ptolemy IV Philopator and Arsinoe III. He ruled from 205 to 181 BC (around 24 years). Epiphanes became ruler at the age of five. The ministers of Philopator, Sosibius and Agathocles, were appointed as regents. In 202 BC, Tlepolemus, the general in charge of Pelusium, put himself at the head of a revolt. Once Epiphanes was in the hands of Tlepolemus he was persuaded to order the murder of Sosibius and Agathocles. Agathocles and several of their supporters were killed by the Alexandrian mob. In 197 BC, Lycopolis was held by the forces of Khaonnophris, but was forced to withdraw to Thebes. In 185 BC, Khaonnophris was arrested by the Ptolemaic general Konanus. In 196 BC, the Rosetta stone gave statement of thanks to the Egyptian priesthood for their help during the crisis. In 184/183 BC, the rebels in Lower Egypt surrendered. The Seleucid king Antiochus III and Philip V of Macedon made an agreement for the partition of the Ptolemaic possessions overseas. In 202 BC, Philip V seized several islands and places in Caria and Thrace. In 200/198 BC, Antiochus III defeated the army of Ptolemy V Epiphanes at the battle of Panium and recaptured Coele-Syria. In 195 BC, Ptolemy signed a conciliatory treaty with Antiochus III, leaving the Seleucid king in possession of Coele-Syria. In 194/193 BC, Antiochus III gave his own daughter, Cleopatra I, to Ptolemy V Epiphanes to marry. He was the sixth king of Egypt during the Ptolemaic dynasty. He reigned from 180 to 145 BC (around 35 years). In 180 BC, Ptolemy VI succeeded his father at the age of 6 and ruled jointly with his mother Cleopatra I until her death in 176 BC. In 175 BC, he married his sister Cleopatra II and had four children. In 170 BC, Antiochus IV began the sixth Syrian war and invaded Coele-Syria and Egypt. In 169 BC, Antiochus IV besieged Alexandria, but he was unable to cut communications to the city. The Egyptians sent to Rome asking for help and the Senate despatched Gaius Popilius to Alexandria. In 168 BC, Popilius met Antiochus IV at Eleusis and ordered him to evacuate Egypt. Antiochus IV asked to have time to consider but Popilius drew a circle round him in the sand with his cane and told him to decide before he stepped outside it. Antiochus IV chose to obey the Roman orders and withdrew his army. From 169-164 BC, Egypt was ruled by a triumvirate consisting of Ptolemy VI, his sister-queen Cleopatra II, and his younger brother Ptolemy VIII Physcon. In 164 BC, Ptolemy VI was driven out by his brother Ptolemy VIII and went to Rome to seek support, which he received from Cato. In 163 BC, Ptolemy VI was restored by the intervention of the Alexandrians and ruled uneasily. In 145 BC, Ptolemy VI died of battle wounds received against Alexander Balas of Syria. In 145 BC, Ptolemy VI died and Cleopatra II announced her son Ptolemy VII as king, but Ptolemy VIII proposed joint rule and marriage to Cleopatra II. Ptolemy VIII then had the unlucky youth Ptolemy VII assassinated during the wedding feast. In 144 BC, Ptolemy took the throne as Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II. Ptolemy VIII was nicknamed as Physcon, which means ‘potbelly’. In 132 BC, the Alexandrians rioted and set fire to the royal palace. In 131 BC, there was a revolt against Ptolemy VIII in Upper Egypt by Harsiesis son of Osiris. His control of Thebes evidently did not last long for Ptolemy VIII soon recovered the town. In 127 BC, Cleopatra II offered the throne of Egypt to Demetrius II, but he went no further than Pelusium and Cleopatra II left for Syria. In 118 BC, a formal amnesty decree was issued by Ptolemy VIII. In 116 BC, Ptolemy VIII died and left the throne for Cleopatra III, who wanted her younger son Alexander to reign with her. However, the Alexandrians wanted her older son Philometor Soter (Ptolemy IX), governor of Cyprus, to co-reign. .
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