Chapter Eighteen

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Chapter Eighteen chapter eighteen THE NINTH, AND LAST, WAR The wars for Syria which were waged between the Ptolemaic and Seleukid dynasties from bchad resulted essentially in the grievous weaken- ing of both powers. The Seleukid state was now shorn of its territo- ries to east and west, so that when the Romans arrived in its neigh- bourhood they came to refer to it as a ‘Syrian’ kingdom. The Ptole- maic state fared somewhat better, still retaining its Egyptian territory, though its two overseas lands in Cyprus and Cyrenaica were usually sep- arated under different kings after the death of Ptolemy VIII Euergetes in . In Syria itself, the land the two dynasties had been long fighting over had begun to fragment from the s. Complementing the still solid Ptolemaic kingdom in Egypt was a still solid Seleukid kingdom in North Syria and Kilikia, but neither power was able to exercise control over Koile Syria completely or for long. Into the power gap they had cre- ated between them came several of the indigenous peoples of the dis- puted lands. The crucial event seems to have been the death of Antio- chos VII in and the destruction of his army. This decisive weakening of the Seleukid state permitted ambitious but small communities to strike out successfully for independence. The Jewish state of the Maccabees had struggled and ambushed and politicked its way to virtual indepen- dence by the s, and the long and successful reign—it had become a monarchy—of John Hyrkanos (–bc) finally established it as a permanent feature on the political scene. Along the Mediterranean coast the Phoenician cities had also worked their way into independence: Ara- dos, after repeated attempts, in /, when it seized its small empire along the nearby coast; Tyre and Sidon during the s—the murder of Demetrios II at Tyre rather indicates a willingness in that city to take desperate decisions, a good mark of independence. On the Arabian bor- ders the Nabataean kingdom resisted Maccabean attacks after , which impelled it to militarise and develop more competent governmental insti- tutions, so that it was clearly another fixture of some local power. The Seleukid kings held some of the ports, including much of the Palestinian coast, Damascus, all the aboriginal Seleukid lands in North Syria as far chapter eighteen as the Euphrates crossing at Zeugma, and Kilikia. But the kingdom was no longer more than one of several local powers, though more powerful than most. Both of the great dynasties, however, suffered still from divided and uncertain and disputed successions, aggravated by the power of the royal women. From two Seleukids disputed their throne; from two Ptolemies disputed their’s, after the deaths in that year of Ptolemy VIII Euergetes and Kleopatra II, and three Kleopatras were also involved in both dynasties. The final war between these dynasties over control of Koile Syria grew out of these internal family conflicts, but only after they had indulged in ten years of raids, marriages, and murders. In this case, however, the fighting was largely between rival Ptolemies; the internal Seleukid conflict produced a strained paralysis in which neither party could intervene in Koile Syria—Josephus compared to the situation to a wrestling match in which the two combatants did not dare relax for fear of ceding an advantage to the opponent.1 The dominating personality in the approach to this last war and inits conduct was Kleopatra III, the daughter of Philometor and Kleopatra II who had been Euergetes’ niece, stepdaughter and second wife. She sur- vived both kings and her mother, and she used her daughters to extend and bolster her own power and influence. Like her half-sister Kleopa- tra Thea she bypassed the direct hereditary succession and favoured her younger son, Ptolemy X Alexander, over the elder son, Ptolemy IX Soter, as successor to Ptolemy Euergetes on the Egyptian throne. As in the pre- vious generation, Cyprus became a separate kingdom for the rejected claimant, Ptolemy IX Soter, who refused to accept his exclusion from the main kingdom and constantly aimed to ‘recover’ it. In his will Euer- getes had allotted Cyrenaica to another son, Ptolemy Apion, the fruit of his long-standing liaison with a concubine, but Apion does not seem to have secured his inheritance for over a decade, until .2 The intermar- riages of Ptolemies and Seleukids had continued in the s with the mar- riage of Tryphaina, the daughter of Euergetes and Kleopatra III, to Antio- chos VIII Grypos, as a sign of their alliance against Alexander Zabeinas. Kleopatra III had two more daughters, Kleopatra IV, who was married to her brother Ptolemy IX as a child, and Selene. One of the first acts of Kleopatra III after Euergetes’ death was to compel Ptolemy IX to set aside Kleopatra IV and marry Selene. Meanwhile Ptolemy X, surnamed 1 Jos., AJ .. 2 Justin ..; Holbl, Ptolemaic Empire, ..
Recommended publications
  • Cleopatra II and III: the Queens of Ptolemy VI and VIII As Guarantors of Kingship and Rivals for Power
    Originalveröffentlichung in: Andrea Jördens, Joachim Friedrich Quack (Hg.), Ägypten zwischen innerem Zwist und äußerem Druck. Die Zeit Ptolemaios’ VI. bis VIII. Internationales Symposion Heidelberg 16.-19.9.2007 (Philippika 45), Wiesbaden 2011, S. 58–76 Cleopatra II and III: The queens of Ptolemy VI and VIII as guarantors of kingship and rivals for power Martina Minas-Nerpel Introduction The second half of the Ptolemaic period was marked by power struggles not only among the male rulers of the dynasty, but also among its female members. Starting with Arsinoe II, the Ptolemaic queens had always been powerful and strong-willed and had been a decisive factor in domestic policy. From the death of Ptolemy V Epiphanes onwards, the queens controlled the political developments in Egypt to a still greater extent. Cleopatra II and especially Cleopatra III became all-dominant, in politics and in the ruler-cult, and they were often depicted in Egyptian temple- reliefs—more often than any of her dynastic predecessors and successors. Mother and/or daughter reigned with Ptolemy VI Philometor to Ptolemy X Alexander I, from 175 to 101 BC, that is, for a quarter of the entire Ptolemaic period. Egyptian queenship was complementary to kingship, both in dynastic and Ptolemaic Egypt: No queen could exist without a king, but at the same time the queen was a necessary component of kingship. According to Lana Troy, the pattern of Egyptian queenship “reflects the interaction of male and female as dualistic elements of the creative dynamics ”.1 The king and the queen functioned as the basic duality through which regeneration of the creative power of the kingship was accomplished.
    [Show full text]
  • The History of Ancient Egypt “Passionate, Erudite, Living Legend Lecturers
    “Pure intellectual stimulation that can be popped into Topic Subtopic the [audio or video player] anytime.” History Ancient History —Harvard Magazine The History of Ancient Egypt “Passionate, erudite, living legend lecturers. Academia’s best lecturers are being captured on tape.” —The Los Angeles Times The History “A serious force in American education.” —The Wall Street Journal of Ancient Egypt Course Guidebook Professor Bob Brier Long Island University Professor Bob Brier is an Egyptologist and Professor of Philosophy at the C. W. Post Campus of Long Island University. He is renowned for his insights into ancient Egypt. He hosts The Learning Channel’s popular Great Egyptians series, and his research was the subject of the National Geographic television special Mr. Mummy. A dynamic instructor, Professor Brier has received Long Island University’s David Newton Award for Teaching Excellence. THE GREAT COURSES® Corporate Headquarters 4840 Westfields Boulevard, Suite 500 Chantilly, VA 20151-2299 Guidebook USA Phone: 1-800-832-2412 www.thegreatcourses.com Cover Image: © Hemera/Thinkstock. Course No. 350 © 1999 The Teaching Company. PB350A PUBLISHED BY: THE GREAT COURSES Corporate Headquarters 4840 Westfi elds Boulevard, Suite 500 Chantilly, Virginia 20151-2299 Phone: 1-800-TEACH-12 Fax: 703-378-3819 www.thegreatcourses.com Copyright © The Teaching Company, 1999 Printed in the United States of America This book is in copyright. All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of The Teaching Company.
    [Show full text]
  • The Ptolemies: an Unloved and Unknown Dynasty. Contributions to a Different Perspective and Approach
    THE PTOLEMIES: AN UNLOVED AND UNKNOWN DYNASTY. CONTRIBUTIONS TO A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE AND APPROACH JOSÉ DAS CANDEIAS SALES Universidade Aberta. Centro de História (University of Lisbon). Abstract: The fifteen Ptolemies that sat on the throne of Egypt between 305 B.C. (the date of assumption of basileia by Ptolemy I) and 30 B.C. (death of Cleopatra VII) are in most cases little known and, even in its most recognised bibliography, their work has been somewhat overlooked, unappreciated. Although boisterous and sometimes unloved, with the tumultuous and dissolute lives, their unbridled and unrepressed ambitions, the intrigues, the betrayals, the fratricides and the crimes that the members of this dynasty encouraged and practiced, the Ptolemies changed the Egyptian life in some aspects and were responsible for the last Pharaonic monuments which were left us, some of them still considered true masterpieces of Egyptian greatness. The Ptolemaic Period was indeed a paradoxical moment in the History of ancient Egypt, as it was with a genetically foreign dynasty (traditions, language, religion and culture) that the country, with its capital in Alexandria, met a considerable economic prosperity, a significant political and military power and an intense intellectual activity, and finally became part of the world and Mediterranean culture. The fifteen Ptolemies that succeeded to the throne of Egypt between 305 B.C. (date of assumption of basileia by Ptolemy I) and 30 B.C. (death of Cleopatra VII), after Alexander’s death and the division of his empire, are, in most cases, very poorly understood by the public and even in the literature on the topic.
    [Show full text]
  • Who's Who in Ancient Egypt
    Who’s Who IN ANCIENT EGYPT Available from Routledge worldwide: Who’s Who in Ancient Egypt Michael Rice Who’s Who in the Ancient Near East Gwendolyn Leick Who’s Who in Classical Mythology Michael Grant and John Hazel Who’s Who in World Politics Alan Palmer Who’s Who in Dickens Donald Hawes Who’s Who in Jewish History Joan Comay, new edition revised by Lavinia Cohn-Sherbok Who’s Who in Military History John Keegan and Andrew Wheatcroft Who’s Who in Nazi Germany Robert S.Wistrich Who’s Who in the New Testament Ronald Brownrigg Who’s Who in Non-Classical Mythology Egerton Sykes, new edition revised by Alan Kendall Who’s Who in the Old Testament Joan Comay Who’s Who in Russia since 1900 Martin McCauley Who’s Who in Shakespeare Peter Quennell and Hamish Johnson Who’s Who in World War Two Edited by John Keegan Who’s Who IN ANCIENT EGYPT Michael Rice 0 London and New York First published 1999 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2004. © 1999 Michael Rice The right of Michael Rice to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
    [Show full text]
  • PERSPECTIVES on PTOLEMAIC THEBES Oi.Uchicago.Edu Ii
    oi.uchicago.edu i PERSPECTIVES ON PTOLEMAIC THEBES oi.uchicago.edu ii Pre-conference warm-up at Lucky Strike in Chicago. Standing, left to right: Joseph Manning, Ian Moyer, Carolin Arlt, Sabine Albersmeier, Janet Johnson, Richard Jasnow Kneeling: Peter Dorman, Betsy Bryan oi.uchicago.edu iii O CCASIONAL PROCEEdINgS Of THE THEBAN WORkSHOP PERSPECTIVES ON PTOLEMAIC THEBES edited by Pete R F. DoRMAn and BetSy M. BRyAn Papers from the theban Workshop 2006 StuDIeS In AnCIent oRIentAL CIvILIzAtIon • nuMBeR 65 the oRIentAL InStItute oF the unIveRSIty oF ChICAgo ChICAgo • ILLInois oi.uchicago.edu iv Library of Congress Control Number: 2001012345 ISBN-10: 1-885923-85-6 ISBN-13: 978-1-885923-85-1 ISSN: 0081-7554 The Oriental Institute, Chicago © 2011 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved. Published 2011. Printed in the United States of America. studIeS IN ANCIeNT orIeNTAL CIvILIzATIoN • NUmBer 65 The orIeNTAL INSTITUTe of The UNIverSITy of ChICAgo Chicago • Illinois Series Editors Leslie Schramer and Thomas g. Urban Series Editors’ Acknowledgments rebecca Cain, françois gaudard, foy Scalf, and Natalie Whiting assisted in the production of this volume. Cover and Title Page Illustration Part of a cosmogonical inscription of Ptolemy vIII euergetes II at Medinet habu (Mh.B 155). Photo by J. Brett McClain Printed by McNaughton & Gunn, Saline, Michigan The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Services — Permanence of Paper for Printed Library materials, ANSI z39.48-1984.
    [Show full text]
  • Handout: Daniel Lesson 7 Daniel 11:2-45 Covers the Period from the Persian Age to Seleucid Ruler Antiochus IV in Three Parts: 1
    Handout: Daniel Lesson 7 Daniel 11:2-45 covers the period from the Persian Age to Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV in three parts: 1. The Persian kings from Cambyses to Xerxes I: 529-465 BC (11:2) 2. Alexander the Great and the division of his empire: 336-323 BC (11:3-4). 3. Battles of the Greek Seleucids, the kings of the north and the Greek Ptolemies, the kings of the south (11:5-45). Part three concerning the history of the Greek Seleucids and Greek Ptolemies divides into six sections (11:5-45): 1. The reigns Ptolemy I Soter, 323-285 BC, and Seleucus I Nicator 312/11-280 BC (11:5) 2. The intrigues of Ptolemy II Philadelphus 285-246 BC and Antiochus II Theos 261-246 BC (11:6). 3. The revenge of Ptolemy III Evergetes 246-221 for the deaths of his sister Berenice and her baby by making war against the kingdom of Seleucus II Collinicus 246-226 BC (11:7-9). 4. The reign of Antiochus IV the Great 223-187 BC (11:10-19). 5. The reign of Seleucus IV Philopator 187-175 BC (11:20). 6. The cruel reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes 175-164 BC, his persecution of the Jews, and his destruction (11:21-45). 2 Three more kings are going to rise in Persia; a fourth will come and be richer than all the others, and when, thanks to his wealth, he has grown powerful, he will make war on all the kingdoms of Greece. The four kings of Persia who came after Cyrus: 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Report on 2010 Season
    The Brooklyn Museum’s 2010 Season of Fieldwork at the Precinct of the Goddess Mut at South Karnak by Richard Fazzini, Brooklyn Museum Abstract The main emphasis of the Expedition’s fieldwork in the 2010 Season was on the area of Chapel D and the Taharqa Gateway. We further excavated the walls built in and around both stone structures and between the Taharqa Gate and the baked brick building (probably a bath) to the south. The most significant result was confirmation of what we had long believed was true of the history of the Mut Precinct: it was not until the reign of Taharqa that the precinct was expanded to include the area between the First Pylon of the Mut Temple and the later north enclosure wall. In fact, the wall running north from the Taharqa Gate ran up to (and possibly under) the enclosure wall, while its southern wall ran to join the earlier Tuthmoside precinct wall running to the west end of the Mut Temple’s First Pylon. The main restoration/conservation project was reconstruction and re-erection of the small healing magic chapel of Horwedja before the east wing of the Mut Temple’s First Pylon. The Brooklyn Museum’s archaeological expedition to the Precinct of Mut is conducted under the auspices of the American Research Center in Egypt and with the permission of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. 1 Fig. 1 is a plan of the northern part of the site showing the areas where the expedition worked in 2010; that work is described below. North of the Mut Temple’s 1 st Pylon Work continued on the Ptolemaic and Roman Period buildings between the Mut Temple’s First Pylon and Temple A’s porch 2 where in 2009 we had begun to uncover 1 The Expedition acknowledges with gratitude the cooperation and assistance of officials of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, in particular Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Karnak's Quaysides
    Karnak’s Quaysides Angus Graham, Luc Gabolde, Mansour Boraik To cite this version: Angus Graham, Luc Gabolde, Mansour Boraik. Karnak’s Quaysides: Evolution of the Embankments from the XVIIIth Dynasty to the Graeco-Roman Period. Harco Willems (Université catholique de Louvain); Jan-Michael Dahms (Université de Heidelberg). The Nile: Natural and Cultural Landscape in Egypt, 36, Transcript Verlag, pp.97-144, 2016, Mainz Historical Cultural Sciences, 9783837636154. 10.14361/9783839436158-004. hal-01894903 HAL Id: hal-01894903 https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01894903 Submitted on 13 Oct 2018 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial - NoDerivatives| 4.0 International License Karnak’s Quaysides Evolution of the Embankments from the Eighteenth Dynasty to the Graeco-Roman Period MANSOUR BORAIK, LUC GABOLDE, ANGUS GRAHAM 1. Introduction The results presented by Luc Gabolde and Angus Graham at the symposium held at Mainz in March 20131 have in part already been published or are in print.2 The authors proposed to the editors – who were very kind to accept it – a re-orientation of their contribution to the proceedings focused on the recent results gained through archaeology, history, geoarchaeology and geophysical survey on the evolution of the Nile embankments/quaysides at Karnak from the Eighteenth Dynasty onwards.
    [Show full text]
  • Pharaoh Chronology (Pdf)
    Egypt's chronology in sync with the Holy Bible by Eve Engelbrite (c)2021, p1 Egypt's Chronology in Synchronization with the Bible This Egyptian chronology is based upon the historically accurate facts in the Holy Bible which are supported by archaeological evidence and challenge many assumptions. A major breakthrough was recognizing Joseph and Moses lived during the reigns of several pharaohs, not just one. During the 18th dynasty in which Joseph and Moses lived, the average reign was about 15 years; and Joseph lived 110 years and Moses lived 120 years. The last third of Moses' life was during the 19th dynasty. Though Rameses II had a reign of 66 years, the average reign of the other pharaohs was only seven years. Biblical chronology is superior to traditional Egyptian chronology Joseph was born in 1745 BC during the reign of Tao II. Joseph was 17 when he was sold into slavery (1728 BC), which was during the reign of Ahmose I, for the historically accurate amount of 20 pieces of silver.1 Moses (1571-1451 BC) was born 250 years after the death of the Hebrew patriarch, Abraham. Moses lived in Egypt and wrote extensively about his conversations and interactions with the pharaoh of the Hebrews' exodus from Egypt; thus providing a primary source. The history of the Hebrews continued to be written by contemporaries for the next thousand years. These books (scrolls) were accurately copied and widely disseminated. The Dead Sea Scrolls contained 2,000 year old copies of every book of the Bible, except Esther, and the high accuracy of these copies to today's copies in original languages is truly astonishing.
    [Show full text]
  • The Relationship of the Additions to the Book of Esther to the Maccabean Crisis
    THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE ADDITIONS TO THE BOOK OF ESTHER TO THE MACCABEAN CRISIS BY ANNE E. GARDNER Newcastle-on-Tyne The book of Esther in the LXX and the so-called Lucianic') recension contains six major additions and a colophon over and above the Massoretic text. It is usually accepted that BICKERMANN2) is correct in his hypothesis that the colophon is an official librarian's s note which was affixed to the book when it was added to the library's collection. This note would fix the date of the book's in- ception if it were clearer which Ptolemy and Cleopatra were being referred to. BICKERMANN himself argues that there were only three Ptolemies associated with a Cleopatra in the fourth year of their reign, but in the case of two of them, Ptolemy IX Soter II Lathyros (114-10 B.C.) and Ptolemy XIII (49-48 B.C.) Cleopatra was a Regent acting on behalf of her son and brother respectively. On of- ficial documents during a regency the verb "reign" was plural and the name of the Queen preceded that of the King whereas in Esther "reign" is singular and the name Ptolemy is before that of Cleopatra. Thus BICKERMANNasserts that the Ptolemy to whom the colophon refers is Ptolemy XII Auletos and the Cleopatra is Cleopatra V, his sister and his wife in 78-77 B.C.3). Unfortunately not every scholar agrees with BtcxERMnNrr on this issue, preferring one or the other of the above named figures4). 1) C. A. MOORE,"A Greek Witness to a Different Hebrew Text of Esther", ZAW 79 (1967), pp.
    [Show full text]
  • Amenhotep Son of Hapu: Self-Presentation Through Statues and Their Texts in Pursuit of Semi-Divine Intermediary Status
    AMENHOTEP SON OF HAPU: SELF-PRESENTATION THROUGH STATUES AND THEIR TEXTS IN PURSUIT OF SEMI-DIVINE INTERMEDIARY STATUS By ELEANOR BETH SIMMANCE A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of Master of Research (Egyptology) Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham April 2014 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Abstract The name of Amenhotep son of Hapu is well-known to scholars. He was similarly distinguished in ancient times as one who reached extraordinary heights during life and whose memory was preserved for centuries after death. This thesis engages with the premise that an individual constructed monuments for commemoration and memorialisation, and thus that the individual was governed by this motive during their creation. Two statues of Amenhotep in particular are believed to have served as mediators between human and god, and by exploring the ways in which he presented himself on the nine contemporary statues which are currently known (all but one originating at Karnak) it is argued that he deliberately portrayed himself as a suitable intermediary, encouraging this form of remembrance.
    [Show full text]
  • POLITICS of the PTOLEMAIC DYNASTY Monica Omoye Aneni
    POLITICS OF THE PTOLEMAIC DYNASTY Monica Omoye Aneni* http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/og.v12i 1.7 Abstract Hellenistic studies and Egyptology have concentrated on the spread and influence of Hellenism, on the one hand, and the value of ancient Egypt’s monument and artifacts, on the other hand. This study focuses on the politics that directed and helped sustain the successors of Alexander the Great on the throne of Egypt. Ptolemy 1 Soter, the instigator of the Ptolemaic dynasty, fought vehemently, gallantly and decisively to consolidate his authority and control over Egypt and her consequent spread. However, his successors played several politics; majorly that of assassination, for the enviable position of Pharaoh, unfortunately, to the detriment of the state. This study contends that besides the earliest Ptolemies, the other successors, having ignored the legacy of Ptolemy 1 Soter and the expansion of Egypt’s frontiers, fostered and nurtured this politics of assassination among others. It concludes with the argument that the contenders encouraged political retrogression to the nadir and therefore were not fit for the throne, for this politics of assassination among others reduced Egypt and hindered her from attaining the status of a much more formidable world power that would have been reckoned with during that period. The study is historical in nature but adopts the expository method. Studies that may interpret Egypt’s strong diplomatic relations with other ancient nations are recommended. Keywords: Politics, Egypt, Ptolemaic dynasty, successors, assassination Introduction Several ancient authors present expository narratives about different political, economic, social and religious activities of the Omoye Aneni: Politics of the Ptolemaic dynasty various eras that characterize ancient times.
    [Show full text]