A Manual of Ancient History

by M. E. Thalheimer

RECAPITULATION.

Seleucus I. (B. C. 312-281) extended his empire beyond the Indus, built many cities, gained all Asia Minor by the defeat of Lysimachus. Antiochus I. (B. C. 280-261) lost the territories of Pergamus and Galatia; Antiochus II. (261-246), those of Parthia and Bactria. Under Seleucus II. (246-226), the greater part of the empire was conquered by Ptolemy, but soon recovered. Seleucus III. reigned three years (B. C. 226-223). Antiochus III. (B C. 223-187) quelled the revolts of Molo and Achæus; had wars with the kings of Parthia and Bactria; penetrated India as far as the Ganges; punished the pirates of the Persian Gulf; wrested from Egypt the provinces of Syria and Palestine; overran Asia Minor, and invaded Greece. He was defeated by the Romans, twice by sea and twice by land. Seleucus IV. (B. C. 187-176) was murdered by his treasurer, Heliodorus. Antiochus IV. (B. C. 176-164) was prevented by the Romans from conquering Egypt; excited by his persecutions a revolt in Judæa, which became independent under the Maccabees. The short reign of Antiochus V. (B. C. 164-162) was filled with wars of the regents. His uncle, Demetrius I. (B. C. 162-151), had unsuccessful wars with the Jews and Cappadocians; was conquered by Alexander Balas, who reigned B. C. 151-146. Demetrius II. had a disputed reign (B. C. 146-140); a ten years’ imprisonment in Parthia (B. C. 140-130), while his wife and his brother, Antiochus VII., ruled Syria; and a second contest with a pretender, B. C. 129-126. Antiochus VIII. (B. C. 126-96) reigned five years jointly with his mother, seven years alone, and eighteen years side by side with his brother, Antiochus IX. (Cyzicenus), who ruled Cœle-Syria and Phœnicia, B. C. 111-96. Seleucus V. (B. C. 96, 95) conquered Cyzicenus, but carried on the same war with his son, Eusebes, until his own violent death. His younger brothers fought first Eusebes, and then each other, until Tigranes, king of Armenia, conquered the country and ruled it fourteen years (B. C. 83-69). Antiochus XIII. the last of the Seleucidæ, reigned B. C. 69-65.

II. Egypt under the Ptolemies. B. C. 323-30.

49. The Macedonian Kingdom in Egypt presented a marked and brilliant contrast to the native empires and the Persian satrapy. By removing the capital to Alexandria, the conqueror had provided for free intercourse with foreign countries, and the old exclusiveness of the Egyptians was forever broken down. While Palestine was attached to this kingdom, especial favor was shown to the Jews; and in the Greek conquerors, the native Egyptians, and the Jewish merchants, the three families of Shem, Ham, and Japhet were reunited as they had never been since the dispersion at Babel. The Egyptians, who had abhorred the Persian dominion, hailed the Macedonians as deliverers; the common people engaged with zeal in the new industries that promised wealth as the reward of enterprise, and the learned class found their delight in the intellectual society, as well as the rare treasures of literature and art, that filled the court of the Ptolemies.

50. Ptolemy I. (Soter[59]) received the Egyptian province immediately upon the death of Alexander, and proceeded to organize it with great energy and wisdom. Desiring to make Egypt a maritime power, he sought at once to conquer Palestine, Phœnicia, and Cyprus, whose forests were as needful to him for ship-building as their sea-faring people for sailors. The two countries on the mainland were occupied by Ptolemy in 320 B. C., and remained six years in his possession. They were lost in the war with Antigonus, and only fully regained after the battle of Ipsus, B. C. 301. Cyprus was the scene of many conflicts, of which the great naval battle off Salamis, B. C. 306, was the most severe and decisive. It was then lost to Egypt, but in B. C. 294 or 293 it was regained, and continued her most valuable foreign possession as long as the kingdom existed. Cyrene and all the Libyan tribes between it and Egypt were also annexed by Ptolemy.

51. Few changes were made in the internal government of Egypt. The country, as before, was divided into nomes, each having its own ruler, who was usually a native Egyptian. The old laws and worship prevailed. The Ptolemies rebuilt the temples, paid especial honors to the Apis, and made the most of all points of resemblance between the Greek and Egyptian religions. A magnificent temple to Sera´pis was erected at Alexandria. The priests retained their privileges and honors, being exempt from all taxation. The army was chiefly, and its officers wholly, Greek or Macedonian, and all civil dignities of any importance were also filled by the conquering people. The Greek inhabitants of the cities alone possessed entire freedom in the management of their affairs.

52. Ptolemy followed the liberal policy of Alexander toward men of genius and learning. He collected a vast and precious library, which he placed in a building connected with the palace; and he founded the “Museum,” which drew students and professors from all parts of the world. No spot ever witnessed more literary and intellectual activity than Alexandria, the University of the East. There Euclid first unfolded the “Elements of Geometry”; Eratos´thenes discoursed of Geography; Hipparchus, of Astronomy; Aristoph´anes and Aristar´chus, of Criticism; Man´etho, of History; while Apel´les and Antiph´ilus added their paintings, and Phile´tas, Callim´achus, and Apollonius their poems, for the delight of a court whose monarch was himself an author, and in which talent constituted rank. Alexandria during this reign was adorned with many costly and magnificent works. The royal palace; the Museum; the great light-house on the island of Pharos, which has given its name to many similar constructions in modern times; the mole or causeway which connected this island with the mainland; the Hip´podrome, and the Mausole´um, containing the tomb of Alexander, were among the chief. Ptolemy Soter was distinguished by his truth and magnanimity from most of the princes and generals of his age. His unlimited power never led him to cruelty or self-indulgence. He died at the age of eighty-four, B. C. 283.

53. Ptolemy II. (Philadelphus), through the influence of his mother, had been raised to the throne two years before his father’s death, instead of his elder brother, Ceraunus. He had been carefully educated by several of the learned men whom the patronage of his father had drawn to the court; and he continued, on a still more liberal scale, that encouragement of science and literature which had already made Alexandria a successful rival of Athens. He so greatly increased the Alexandrian Library that he is often mentioned as its founder. Agents were appointed to search Europe and Asia for every literary work of value, and to secure it at any cost. An embassy was sent to the high priest at Jerusalem to bring a copy of the Holy Scriptures, together with a company of learned men who could translate them into Greek. The translators were entertained by the king with the greatest honor. The first five books were completed in the reign of Philadelphus, the rest were translated by order of the later Ptolemies; and the entire version—still an invaluable treasure to Biblical scholars—is known as the Sep´tuagint, either from the seventy translators, or because it was authorized by the San´hedrim of Alexandria, which consisted of the same number.

54. Ptolemy II. was engaged in various wars; first for the furtherance of the Achæan League, and the protection of the Greeks against Macedonian aggressions; afterward against his half-brother, Magas, king of Cyrene, and the kings of Syria, with whom Magas was allied. He gained possession of the whole coast of Asia Minor, with many of the Cyclades. By the wisdom of his internal policy, Egypt was meanwhile raised to her highest pitch of wealth and prosperity. He re-opened the canal made by Rameses the Great ([see Book I, §§ 153, 154]), and built the port of Arsinoë, on the site of the modern Suez. To avoid the dangers of Red Sea navigation, he founded two cities, named Berenice, farther to the southward, and connected one of them by a highway with Coptos on the Nile. Egypt thus reaped the full commercial advantage of her position midway between the East and the West. For centuries the rich productions of India, Arabia, and Ethiopia were conveyed along these various highways to Alexandria, whence they were distributed to Syria, Greece, and Rome. The revenues of Egypt were equal to those which Darius had derived from the vast empire of Persia.

55. The personal character of Philadelphus was less admirable than that of his father. He killed two of his brothers, banished a most faithful counselor, and by marrying his own sister, Arsinoë, introduced a custom which caused untold misery and mischief in the kingdom. He died B. C. 247, having reigned thirty-eight years, or thirty-six from the death of his father.

56. Ptolemy III. (Euergetes) was the most enterprising monarch of his race, and pushed the boundaries of his kingdom to their greatest extent. He gained the Cyr´ena´ica by marriage with the daughter of Magas, and annexed portions of Ethiopia and Arabia. In his war against Syria to avenge his sister Berenice ([see §§ 32, 33]), he even passed the Euphrates and conquered all the country to the borders of Bactria; but he lost all this by his sudden recall to Egypt. His conquests on the sea-board, which could be defended by his fleet, remained permanently in his possession. All the shores of the Mediterranean, from Cyrene to the Hellespont, with many important islands, and even a portion of Europe, including Lysimachia in Thrace, belonged to his dominion.

He continued the patronage of art and letters, and enriched the Alexandrian libraries with many rare manuscripts. The Egyptians were still more gratified by the recovery of some ancient images of their gods, which had been carried away to Assyria by Sargon or Esarhaddon, and were brought back by Ptolemy from his eastern campaign. Euergetes died B. C. 222, after a prosperous reign of twenty-five years; and with him ended the glory of the Macedonian monarchy in Egypt. “Historians reckon nine Ptolemies after Euergetes. Except Philome´tor, who was mild and humane; Lath´yrus, who was amiable but weak; and Ptolemy XII., who was merely young and incompetent, they were all, almost equally, detestable.”

57. Ptolemy IV. was suspected of having murdered his father, and therefore took the surname Philopator to allay suspicion. He began his reign, however, by murdering his mother, his brother, and his uncle, and marrying his sister Arsinoë. A few years later she, too, was put to death, at the instigation of a worthless favorite of the king. The control of affairs was left to Sosib´ius, a minister who was equally wicked and incompetent. Through his neglect, the army became weakened by lack of discipline, and the Syrians seized the opportunity to recover their lost possessions. They were defeated, however, at Raph´ia, and gained only their port of Seleucia. A revolt of the native Egyptians occupied many years of this reign.

58. Ptolemy V. (Epiphanes) was only five years old at his father’s death. The kings of Syria and Macedon plotted to divide his dominions between them, and the only resource of the incompetent ministers was to call the Romans to their aid. All the foreign dependencies, except Cyprus and the Cyrenaica, were lost; but by the good management of M. Lep´idus, Egypt was saved to the little Ptolemy. Aristom´enes, an Acarnanian, succeeded Lepidus as regent, and his energy and justice restored for a time the prosperity of the kingdom. At the age of fourteen, Epiphanes was declared of age, and the government was thenceforth in his name. Few events of his reign are known. He married Cleopatra of Syria, and soon after poisoned his late guardian, Aristomenes. His plans for a war with Syria were prevented by his own assassination, B. C. 181.

59. Ptolemy VI. (Philometor) became king at the age of seven, under the vigorous regency of his mother, Cleopatra. She died B. C. 173, and the power passed into the hands of two weak and corrupt ministers, who involved the kingdom in war, and almost in ruin, by their rash invasion of Syria. Antiochus IV. defeated them at Pelusium, and advancing to Memphis, gained possession of the young king, whom he used as a tool for the reduction of the whole country. The Alexandrians crowned Ptolemy Physcon, a younger brother of the king, and successfully withstood the besieging army of Antiochus. The Romans now interposing, he was obliged to retreat.

The two brothers agreed to reign together, and prepared for war with Antiochus. He captured Cyprus, invaded Egypt a second time, and would doubtless have added the entire dominion of the Ptolemies to his own, if the Romans, who claimed the protectorate of Egypt, had not again interfered and commanded him to withdraw. The Syrian king reluctantly obeyed, and the brothers reigned four years in peace. They then quarreled, and Philometor went to plead his cause before the Roman Senate. The Romans re-instated him in the possession of Egypt, giving to his brother Physcon Libya and the Cyrenaica. Dissatisfied with his portion, Physcon went to Rome and obtained a further grant of Cyprus; but Philometor refused to give it up, and the brothers were preparing for war, when a revolt in Cyrene engaged the attention of its king. After nine years he renewed his claim, and obtained from Rome a small squadron to aid in the capture of the island. He was defeated and made prisoner by his brother; but his life was spared, and he was restored to his kingdom of Cyrene. Philometor fell, B. C. 146, in a battle near Antioch, with Alexander Balas, whom he had himself encouraged to assume the crown of Syria. ([See § 42.])

60. Ptolemy VII. (Eupator) had reigned but a few days when he was murdered by his uncle, Ptolemy Physcon, who, aided by the Romans, united in himself the two kingdoms, Egypt and Cyrene. This monster created such terror by his inhuman cruelties, and such disgust by his excesses, that his capital became half depopulated, and the citizens who remained were almost constantly in revolt. At last he was forced to take refuge in Cyprus, the crown remaining to his sister, Cleopatra. To wound the queen most deeply, he murdered her son, and sent her the head and hands of the victim. The Alexandrians were so enraged by this atrocity, that they fought bravely for Cleopatra; but when she applied for aid to the king of Syria, they became alarmed and recalled Physcon, after an exile of three years. Warned by his punishment, Physcon now desisted from his cruelties, and devoted himself to literary pursuits, even gaining some reputation as an author.

61. Ptolemy VIII. (Lath´yrus) succeeded his father in Egypt, while his brother Alexander reigned in Cyprus, and A´pion, another son of Physcon, received the Cyrenaica. Cleopatra, the queen mother, had the real power. After ten years, Lathyrus offended his mother by pursuing a policy of his own, and was compelled to change places with Alexander, who reigned eighteen years in Egypt, with the title of Ptolemy IX. Cleopatra was then put to death, Alexander expelled, and Ptolemy Lathyrus recalled. He reigned eight years as sole monarch, defeated Alexander, who attempted to regain Cyprus, and punished a revolt in Thebes by a siege of three years, ending with the destruction of the city, B. C. 89-86.

62. Berenice, the only legitimate child of Lathyrus, reigned six months alone, and was then married and associated upon the throne with her cousin, Ptolemy X., a son of Alexander, whose claims were supported by the Romans. Within three weeks he put his wife to death, and the Alexandrians, revolting, slew him in the gymnasium, B. C. 80. Fifteen years of great confusion followed, during which the succession was disputed by at least five claimants, and Cyprus became a separate kingdom.

63. Ptolemy XI. (Aule´tes, or the Flute-Player) then obtained the crown, and dated his reign from the death of his half-sister, Berenice. In 59 B. C., he was acknowledged by the Romans; but by that time his oppressive and profligate government had so disgusted the people, that they drove him from the kingdom. He took refuge four years in Rome, while his two daughters nominally governed Egypt, first jointly, and then the younger alone, after her sister’s death. In 55 B. C. Auletes returned, supported by a Roman army, put to death his daughter, who had opposed his restoration, and reigned under Roman protection three and a half years. He died, B. C. 51, leaving four children: the famous Cleopatra, aged seventeen; Ptolemy XII.; another Ptolemy, and a daughter Arsinoë, still younger.

Coin of Antony and Cleopatra, twice the size.

64. The princess Cleopatra received the crown under Roman patronage, in conjunction with the elder Ptolemy. The brother and sister quarreled, and Cleopatra was driven into Syria. Here she met Julius Cæsar, and by her talents and accomplishments gained great ascendency over his mind. By his aid Ptolemy was conquered and slain, and Cleopatra established in the kingdom. She removed her younger brother by poison, and had thenceforth no rival. With consummate ability, mixed with the unscrupulous cruelty of her race, she reigned seventeen years in great prosperity. Cæsar was her protector while he lived, and Antony then became her slave, sacrificing all his interests, and his honor as a Roman and a general, to her slightest caprices. In the civil wars of Rome, Antony was at length defeated at Actium; Cleopatra committed suicide, and her kingdom became a Roman province, B. C. 30.

65. The kingdom of the Ptolemies had continued 293 years, from the death of Alexander to that of Cleopatra. During 101 years, under the first three kings, it was the most flourishing, well organized, and prosperous of the Macedonian monarchies; the nearly two centuries which remained were among the most degraded periods in the history of the human race.