Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 16.djvu/597

* PTOLEMY. 521 PTOLEMY. Empire. Euergetes was a liberal patron of the arts and of literature, and added considerably to the collections of the Alexandrian Library. The splendid Temple of Edfu (q.v.) was planned and begun by him, and he also built at Ivarnak, Philie, Esne, Canopus, and other places. In his reign Egypt reached the highest point of military glory, prosperity, and wealth. Ptolemy IV. (c. 244-205 B.C.), surnamed Phil- OFATOR, the son of Ptolemy III. by liis wife Berenice, reigned from B.C. 222 to 20.3. He mar- ried his sister Arsinoe about B.C. 212. Philopator, who is said by Polybius to have been addicted to drunkenness and debauchery, was throughout his reign under the influence of unscrupulous favor- ites. The murder of his mother, Berenice, and of his brother Magas, shortly after his accession, was due to the machinations of his minister Sosi- bius, and later he fell under the influence of his mistress Agathoclea and her brother Agathocles, who caused the jmirder of his wife Arsinoe. In the early part of Philopator's reign Antiochus III. seized many of the Egyptian possessions in Syria, and in B.C. 218 defeated an Egyptian army sent against him. The following year Ptolemy took the field in person, and signally defeated Antiochus at Haphia. Although he al- lowed his defeated antagonist easy terms, he secured the quiet possession of the Syrian prov- inces for the rest of his life. Philopator, like most of his family, had strong literary tastes. He wrote a tragedy called Adonis, and built a temple to Homer as the king of poets. The beautiful Temple of Deir-el-Medtneh is his work, and he also built at Assuan, Edfu, and other places. Ptolemy V. (b.c. 210-181), surnamed Epi- PH.iNES ("the Illustrious'), who reigned from B.C. 205 to 181, was only five years old when he succeeded his father. Philopator. Antiochus the Great of Syria and Philip V. of Macedon took advantage of his minority to seize upon the foreign possessions of Egypt, and Antiochus actu- ally made himself master of Coele-Syria and Palestine, and threatened Egypt itself. Through the intervention of Rome, however, the war was stopped, and Antiochus betrothed his daughter Cleopatra to the yoimg Ptolemy (B.C. 198). Epiphanes was declared of age in B.C. 196, and his coronation was celebrated with unusual splendor. It was on this occasion that the Eg'ptian priesthood published the decree which forms the inscription on the famous Rosetta Stone (q.v.). In 193 Epiphanes married Cleo- patra, and the revenues of Coele-Syria and Pales- tine were given as her dowry, but her father gar- risoned these provinces with his own troops and they were practically lost to Egypt. I71 B.C. 181 Epiphanes was poisoned by some of his followers while he was making preparations for a war against Seleiieus IV., the son and successor of .Antiochus the Great, in order to recover Coele- Syria. Ptolemy VI. (c.l91-I81 B.C.), surnamed Eu- PATOR. the eldest son of Epiphanes. seems to have reigned for a few months, at most, afier his fath- er's death, but nothing is known in regard to him. Ptolemy VII. (c.l88-14r> n.c), surnamed Pm- LOMETOR, was the son of Epiphanes and his Sy- rian wife, Cleopatra, and reigned from B.C. 181 to 146. He was a mere child at the time of his accession, and his mother, a woman of remark- able ability, ruled the country during his mi- nority. She died in B.C. 173, the year of her son's coronation, and a quarrel arose about her dowry. In the war which ensued, Antiochus IV. invaded Egj'pt, defeated the Egj'ptian forces near Pelu- sium, and had himself proclaimed King at Mem- phis. The joimg King was made prisoner, but his brother, afterwards Ptolemy IX., gathered an arm}', assumed the ro,val title, and successfully defended Alexandria. Antiochus retired to Sy- ria, but soon invaded Egypt again, and would probably have made himself master of the coun- try had not the Roman envoy, 11. Popilius Lsnas, ordered him back to his kingdom. The two Ptolemies ruled together until B.C. 103, when they quarreled and Philometor was obliged to flee to Rome for protection. By arrangement, the government of Egypt proper was restored to him, and his brother was made King of Cyrene. In B.C. 146 Philometor was killed in battle against the Syrian usurper Alexander Balas. Ptolemy Vlll. (c.148-146 B.C.), surnamed Eu- p.iTOR II. or Neo.s Piiilop.tok, was the son of Ptolemy VII., and, although a child at his fath- er's death, was proclaimed King by his mother. The claim was resisted by his uncle Ptolemy IX., who marched upon Alexandria with an army, but the dispute was settled by agreement. Ptolemy IX. obtained the throne and married his brother's widow, and the young King was murdered after a nominal reign of a few months. Ptolemy IX. (c.184-117 B.C.), surnamed Eu- ergetes II., and nicknamed Physcon ('fat- paunch'), is reported by Greek writers to have been a monster of cruelty and licentiousness, but the charges against him seem to have been exag- gerated. His reign (B.C. 14(i-l!7) was. on the whole, able. His marriage with his brother's widow, Cleopatra, was a political necessity, and not long afterwards he married his niece, also named Cleopatra, daughter of Ptolemy VII. In B.C. 130 he was ex])elled from Egypt by a revolu- tion headed by his wife, the elder Cleopatra, but two years later lie returned to Alexandria and resumed the rule of the country. He exhibited great activity in repairing and restoring the tem- ples of Egypt, and maintained the great Library of Alexandria iiua worthy manner. He possessed some literary ability, and wrote a collection of memoirs in 24 books. Ptolemy X. ( ?-b.c. 81), surnamed Soter II. or Latiiyrus, was the son of Ptolemy IX. He ruled jointly with his mother. Cleopatra, from B.C. 117 to 106, when he was driven from Egypt by a revolution and took up his abode in Cyprus. Cleopatra, to whose influence his expulsion was due, summoned her younger son, Ptolemy XL, to Egj'pt and appointed him co-regent. In the meantime Ptolemy X. made himself master of Cj'prus and ruled there until recalled to I^^gA'pt in the year 88. The latter part of his reign was marked by a serious rebellion at Thebes which lasted for nearly three years and was ])ut <lown with great difficult.v. He died in n.c. 81. Soter II., before his accession to the throne, had mar- ried his sister, Cleopatra, bit was forced by his motlur to put her away and marry his younger sister. Selene. Ptolemy XI. ( ?-b.c. 88) . surnamed Alexander I., was the brother of Ptolemy X.. and was placed on the throne by his nmther, Cleopatra, in b.c, 106, after the expulsion of her elder son. In B.C. 101, fearing that his mother was planning his death, he caused her to be murdered. In B.C. 88