Ptolemy V Epiphanes
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Ptolemy VI | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Consort | Arsinoe III | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | 9 October 210 BC[3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | September 180 BC (aged 29)[3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Burial | Alexandria | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dynasty | Ptolemaic dynasty |
Ptolemy V Epiphanes Eucharistos
Ptolemy V, the son of
Ptolemy V came of age in 196 BC and was crowned as pharaoh in Memphis, an occasion commemorated by the creation of the
Ptolemy V's reign saw greatly increased prominence of courtiers and the Egyptian priestly elite in Ptolemaic political life, a pattern that would continue for most of the rest of the kingdom's existence. It also marked the collapse of Ptolemaic power in the wider Mediterranean region. Arthur Eckstein has argued that this collapse sparked the "power transition crisis" that led to the Roman conquest of the eastern Mediterranean.[5]
Background and early life
Ptolemy V was the only child of
Ptolemy V was born in 210 BC, possibly on 9 October. He was made co-regent with his father shortly thereafter, probably on 30 November.[note 2][7] In July or August of 204 BC, when Ptolemy V was five years old, his father and mother died in mysterious circumstances. It appears that there was a fire in the palace that killed Ptolemy IV, but it is unclear whether Arsinoe III also perished in this fire or was murdered afterwards to prevent her from becoming regent.[7]
Regencies
Regency of Agathocles (204–203 BC)
An uncertain amount of time elapsed after the death of Ptolemy IV and Arsinoe III (perhaps a week) during which Sosibius and Agathocles kept their deaths secret. Some time before September 204 BC,[3] the royal bodyguard and army officers were gathered at the royal palace and Sosibius announced the death of the ruling couple and presented the young Ptolemy V to be acclaimed as king, wrapping the diadem around his head. Sosibius read out Ptolemy IV's will, which made Sosibius and Agathocles regents and placed Ptolemy V in the personal care of his mistress Agathoclea and her mother Oenanthe. Polybius thought that this will was a forgery produced by Sosibius and Agathocles themselves and modern scholars tend to agree with him. Sosibius is not heard of again after this event and it is generally assumed that he died. Hölbl suggests that the loss of his acumen was fatal to the regency.[8][9]
Agathocles took a number of actions to solidify the new regime. Two months' pay were granted to the soldiers in Alexandria. Prominent aristocrats were dispatched overseas - to secure recognition of the succession from foreign powers and to prevent the aristocrats from challenging Agathocles for supremacy at home. Philammon, said to have carried out the murder of Arsinoe III, was sent to Cyrene as governor in order to assert Ptolemaic rule there. Pelops, governor of Cyprus, was sent to Antiochus III to ask him to continue to respect the peace treaty made with Ptolemy IV at the end of the Fourth Syrian War. Ptolemy, Sosibius' son, was sent to Philip V of Macedon to attempt to arrange an alliance against Antiochus III and a marriage between Ptolemy V and one of Philip V's daughters. Ptolemy of Megalopolis was sent to Rome, probably seeking support against Aniochus III.[10] These missions were failures. Over the following year, Antiochus III seized Ptolemaic territory in Caria, including the city of Amyzon, and by late 203 BC he and Philip V had made a secret agreement to divide the Ptolemaic territories between themselves.[11][9] War with Antiochus III was expected - Agathocles had also sent an embassy under Scopas the Aetolian to hire mercenaries in Greece in preparation for a conflict, although Polybius claims that his true purpose was to replace the Ptolemaic troops with mercenaries loyal to him.[12]
Alexandrian revolution (203–202 BC)
Agathocles and Agathoclea had already been unpopular before Ptolemy IV's death. This unpopularity was exacerbated by the widespread belief that they had been responsible for the death of Arsinoe III and a string of extrajudicial murders of prominent courtiers. Opposition crystallised around the figure of Tlepolemus, the general in charge of Pelusium, whose mother-in-law had been arrested and publicly shamed by Agathocles. In October 203 BC,[3] when Agathocles gathered the palace guard and army to hear a proclamation in advance of the royal coronation, the assembled troops began to insult him and he barely escaped alive.[13] Shortly after this, Agathocles had Moeragenes, one of the royal bodyguards, arrested on suspicion of ties to Tlepolemus and had him stripped and tortured. He escaped and convinced the army to go into active revolt. After an altercation with Oenanthe (the mother of the regent and his sister) at the temple of Demeter, the Alexandrian women joined the revolt as well. Overnight, the populace besieged the palace calling for the king to be brought to them. The army entered at dawn and Agathocles offered to surrender. Ptolemy V, now about seven years old, was taken from Agathocles and presented to the people on horseback in the stadium. In response to the crowd's demands, Sosibius, son of Sosibius, persuaded Ptolemy V to agree to the execution of his mother's killers. Agathocles and his family were then dragged into the stadium and killed by the mob.[14][15][9]
Tlepolemus arrived in Alexandria immediately after these events and was appointed regent. He and Sosibius, son of Sosibius were also made Ptolemy V's legal guardians. Popular opinion soon turned against Tlepolemus, who was considered to spend too much time sparring and drinking with the soldiers and to have given too much money to embassies from the cities of mainland Greece. Ptolemy, son of Sosibius attempted to set his brother Sosibius up in opposition to Tlepolemus, but the plan was discovered and Sosibius was dismissed as guardian.[16]
Fifth Syrian War (202–196 BC)
Since his defeat by Ptolemy IV in the Fourth Syrian War in 217 BC, Antiochus III had been waiting for an opportunity to avenge himself. He had begun seizing Ptolemaic territory in western Asia Minor in 203 BC and made a pact with Philip V of Macedon to divide the Ptolemaic possessions between themselves late in that year.[11] In 202 BC, Antiochus III invaded Coele-Syria and seized Damascus. Tlepolemus responded by sending an embassy to Rome begging for help.[17] At some point over the winter, Tlepolemus was replaced as regent by Aristomenes, a member of the bodyguard who had been instrumental in the seizure of young Ptolemy V from Agathocles.[9]
In 201 BC, Antiochus III invaded
The Ptolemaic general
The Egyptian Revolt (204–196 BC)
A revolt had broken out in
Shortly after this, Ptolemy V launched a massive southern campaign, besieging
Personal reign
Coronation
By 197 BC the dismal Ptolemaic performance in the war against Antiochus III had completely eroded Aristomenes' authority as regent. Around October or November 197 BC, the Ptolemaic governor of Cyprus, Polycrates of Argos, came to Alexandria, and arranged for Ptolemy V to be declared an adult with a ceremony known as an anacleteria, even though he was only thirteen years old. Polybius writes that Ptolemy V's courtiers "thought that the kingdom would gain a certain degree of firmness and a fresh impulse towards prosperity, if it were known that the king had assumed the independent direction of the government."[28] He was crowned in Memphis by the High Priest of Ptah on 26 March 196. Polycrates now became the chief minister in Alexandria and Aristomenes was forced to commit suicide in the following years.[29][18]
The day after Ptolemy V's coronation, a synod of priests from all over Egypt who had gathered for the event passed the
Peace with Antiochus III
After the Romans decisively defeated Philip V at the
End of the Egyptian Revolt (196–185 BC)
In the mid 190s BC, Ankhmakis made some sort of agreement with King
Ankhmakis was taken to Alexandria and executed on 6 September 186 BC. Soon after, an official synod of priests gathered in the city and passed a decree, known today as the Philensis II decree, in which Ankhmakis was denounced for rebellion and various other crimes against humanity and the gods. A month later, on 9 October 186 BC, Ptolemy V issued the 'Amnesty Decree', which required all fugitives and refugees to return to their homes and pardoned them for any crimes committed before September 186 BC (except temple robbery). This was intended to restore land to cultivation that had been abandoned during the prolonged period of warfare. To prevent further revolts in the south, a new military governorship of Upper Egypt, the epistrategos, was created, with Comanus serving in the role from 187 BC. Greek soldiers were settled in villages and cities in the south, to act as a garrison force in the event of further unrest.[25]
The rebels in Lower Egypt still continued to fight on. In 185 BC, the general Polycrates of Argos succeeded in suppressing the rebellion. He promised the leaders of the rebellion that they would be treated generously if they surrendered. Trusting this, they voluntarily went to
Foreign policy after the Fifth Syrian War (194/3–180 BC)
After the end of the Fifth Syrian War, Ptolemy V made an effort to reassert Ptolemaic power on the world stage and to claw back some of the territories lost to the Seleucids, with very little success. When the
When Antiochus III died in 187 BC and was succeeded by his son
Ptolemy V died suddenly in September 180 BC, not yet thirty years old. The ancient historians allege that he was poisoned by his courtiers, who believed that he intended to seize their property in order to fund his new Syrian war.[43][39][3]
Regime
Ptolemaic dynastic cult
Ptolemaic Egypt had a dynastic cult, which centred on the Ptolemaia festival and the annual priest of Alexander the Great, whose full title included the names of all the Ptolemaic monarchs and appeared in official documents as part of the date formula. Probably at the Ptolemaia festival in 199 BC, Ptolemy V was proclaimed to be the Theos Epiphanes Eucharistos (Manifest, Beneficent God) and his name was added to the title of the Priest of Alexander. When he married Cleopatra I in 194–3 BC, the royal couple were deified as the Theoi Epiphaneis (Manifest Gods) and the Priest of Alexander's full title was modified accordingly.[44]
Since the death of Ptolemy V's predecessor Arsinoe II, deceased Ptolemaic queens had been honoured with a separate dynastic cult of their own, including a separate priestess who marched in religious processions in Alexandria behind the priest of Alexander the Great and whose names also appeared in dating formulae. That trend continued under Ptolemy V with the establishment of a cult for his mother in 199 BC. Unlike the canephore of
With the loss of most of the Ptolemaic possessions outside Egypt in the Fifth Syrian War, Cyprus assumed a much more important role within the Ptolemaic empire and this was asserted by the establishment of a centralised religious structure on the island. The governor (strategos) of Cyprus was henceforth also the island's high priest (archiereus), responsible for maintaining a version of the dynastic cult on the island.[44]
Pharaonic ideology and Egyptian religion
Like his predecessors, Ptolemy V assumed the traditional Egyptian role of pharaoh and the concomitant support for the Egyptian priestly elite. As under the two previous rulers, the symbiotic relationship between the king and the priestly elite was affirmed and articulated by the decrees of priestly synods. Under Ptolemy V there were three of these, all of which were published on stelae in
The first of these decrees was the Memphis decree, passed on 27 March 196 BC, the day after Ptolemy V's coronation, in which the king is presented as the 'image of Horus, son of Isis and Osiris'. The decree's description of Ptolemy V's victory over the Lycopolis rebels and of his coronation draws heavily on traditional imagery that presented the pharaoh as a new Horus, receiving the kingship from his dead father, whom he avenges by smiting the enemies of Egypt and restoring order. In honour of his benefactions, the priests awarded him religious honours modelled on those granted by the priestly synods to his father and grandfather: they agreed to erect a statue of Ptolemy V in the shrine of every temple in Egypt and to celebrate an annual festival on his birthday.[46]
These honours were augmented in the Philensis II decree passed in September 186 BC on the suppression of Ankhmakis' revolt. The priests undertook to erect another statue of Ptolemy V in the guise of 'Lord of Victory' in the sanctuary of every temple in Egypt alongside a statue of the main deity of the temple, and to celebrate a festival in honour of Ptolemy V and Cleopatra I every year on the day of Ankhmakis' defeat.
Ptolemy V's predecessors, since the time of Alexander the Great, had pursued a wide-ranging policy of temple construction, designed to ensure the support of the priestly elite. Ptolemy V was not able to do this on the same scale as his predecessors. One reason for this was the more difficult financial circumstances of Egypt during his reign. Another was the loss of large sections of the country to the rebels - at the temple of Horus at Edfu, for example, it had been planned that a large set of doors would be installed in 206 BC, but the rebellion meant that this did not actually take place until the late 180s. What construction was carried out under Ptolemy V was focussed in the northern part of the country, particularly the sanctuary of the Apis Bull and the temple of Anubis at Memphis. Hölbl interprets this work as part of an effort to build up Memphis as the centre of Egyptian religious authority, at the expense of Thebes, which had been a stronghold of the Egyptian revolt.[48]
Marriage and issue
Ptolemy V married Cleopatra I, daughter of the Seleucid king Antiochus III, in 194 BC and they had three children, who would rule Egypt in various combinations and with a great deal of conflict for most of the rest of the second century BC.[49]
Name | Image | Birth | Death | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ptolemy VI |
May/June 186 BC | 145 BC | Succeeded as King under the regency of his mother in 180 BC, co-regent and spouse of Cleopatra II from 170 to 164 BC and again 163-145 BC. | |
Cleopatra II | 186-184 BC | 6 April 115 BC | Co-regent and wife of Ptolemy VI from 170 to 145 BC, co-regent and spouse of Ptolemy VIII from 145 to 132 BC, claimed sole rule 132-127 BC, co-regent and spouse of Ptolemy VIII again from 124 to 115 BC, co-regent with her daughter Ptolemy IX from 116 to 115 BC.
| |
Ptolemy VIII |
c. 184 BC | 26 June 116 BC | Co-regent with Ptolemy VI and Cleopatra II from 169 to 164 BC, expelled Ptolemy VI in 164, expelled in turn 163 BC, King of Cyrenaica from 163 to 145 BC, co-regent with Cleopatra II and Cleopatra III from 145 to 132 BC and again from 124 to 116 BC. |
Notes
- ^ Numbering the Ptolemies is a modern convention. Older sources may give a number one higher or lower. The most reliable way of determining which Ptolemy is being referred to in any given case is by epithet (e.g. "Philopator").
- Phaophi (30 November in 210 BC) in the hieroglyphic text, but as 17 Mecheir in the demotic text (29 March in 209 BC). Ludwig Koenen has proposed that 30 Mesore was actually Ptolemy V's accession date: Koenen 1977, p. 73).
References
- ^ Clayton (2006) p. 208.
- ISBN 978-1-58983-736-2.
- ^ a b c d e Bennett, Chris. "Ptolemy V". Egyptian Royal Genealogy. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
- ISBN 978-1-135-11983-6.
- ISBN 9780520246188.
- ^ Hölbl 2001, pp. 127–133
- ^ a b Bennett, Chris. "Ptolemy IV". Egyptian Royal Genealogy. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ Justin, Epitome of Pompeius Trogus 30.2; Polybius 15.25.3
- ^ a b c d Hölbl 2001, pp. 134–136
- ^ Polybius 15.25.11-13
- ^ a b Polybius 15.20, 16.1.9, 16.10.1; Justin, Epitome of Pompeius Trogus 30.2.8; Livy Ab Urbe Condita 31.14.5; Appian Macedonica 4.1.
- ^ Polybius 15.25.16-19
- ^ Polybius 16.25.20-27.3
- ^ Polybius 15.27-34
- ^ Bevan, Chapter 8.
- ^ Polybius 16.21-22
- ^ Justin 30.2.8
- ^ a b c Hölbl 2001, pp. 136–140
- FGrH260 F45-46
- ^ Polybius 16.8-19, 22a
- ^ Polybius 16.27.5; Livy Ab Urbe Condita 31.2.3
- ^ Livy Ab Urbe Condita 31.43.5-7
- FGrH260 F46
- FGrH260 F45-46
- ^ a b c d e Hölbl 2001, pp. 155–157
- ^ Bennett, Chris. "Horwennefer / Ankhwennefer". Egyptian Royal Genealogy. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ^ Polybius 22.17.1; Rosetta Stone decree 11
- ^ Polybius 18.55.3-6
- Diodorus Bibliotheca 18.14; PlutarchMoralia 71c-d.
- ^ British Museum. "History of the World in 100 Objects:Rosetta Stone". BBC.
- ^ Hölbl 2001, p. 165
- ^ Polybius 18.49-52; Livy Ab Urbe Condita 33.39-41; Appian, Syriaca 3.
- ^ Livy Ab Urbe Condita 33.13; Cassius Dio 19.18
- ^ Bennett, Chris. "Cleopatra I". Egyptian Royal Genealogy. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
- ^ Polybius 22.17.3-7
- ^ Livy Ab Urbe Condita 36.41
- ^ Livy Ab Urbe Condita 37.3.9-11
- ^ Polybius 21.45.8; Livy Ab Urbe Condita 38.39
- ^ a b c Hölbl 2001, pp. 141–143
- ^ Polybius 22.22
- ^ Polybius 22.3.5-9, 22.9
- ^ IG II2 2314, line 41; S. V. Tracy & C. Habicht, Hesperia 60 (1991) 219
- ^ Diodorus Bibliotheca 29.29; Jerome, Commentary on Daniel 11.20
- ^ a b c Hölbl 2001, p. 171
- ^ Bennett, Chris. "Arsinoe III". Egyptian Royal Genealogy. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
- ^ a b c d Hölbl 2001, pp. 165–167
- ^ Translated text on attalus.org
- ^ Hölbl 2001, p. 162
- ^ Chris Bennett. "Cleopatra I". Tyndale House. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
Bibliography
- OCLC 876137911.
- Hölbl, Günther (2001). A History of the Ptolemaic Empire. London & New York: Routledge. pp. 143–152 & 181–194. ISBN 0415201454.
- Clayton, Peter A. (2006). Chronicles of the Pharaohs: The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Rulers and Dynasties of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-28628-0.
External links
- Ptolemy V Epiphanes entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith
- Greek section of Rosetta Stone and Second Philae Decree in English translation