Ptolemy V Epiphanes
Ptolemy V Epiphanes ( Greek: Πτολεμαίος Επιφανής, reigned 204-181 BC), son of Ptolemy IV Philopator and Arsinoe III of Egypt, was not more than five years old when he came to the throne, and under a series of regents the kingdom was paralysed.
Ptolemy Epiphanes was only a small boy when his father, Ptolemy Philopator, died. The two leading favorites of Philopator, Agathocles and Sosibius, fearing that Arsinoe would secure the regency had her murdered before she heard of her husband's death so securing the regency for themselves. In 202 BC however Tlepolemus, the general in charge of Pelusium put himself at the head of a revolt which ended with Agathocles and several of his supporters being killed by the Alexandrian mob.
Antiochus III the Great and Philip V of Macedon made a pact to divide the Ptolemaic possessions overseas. Philip seized several islands and places in Caria and Thrace, whilst the Battle of Panium (198 BC) definitely transferred Coele-Syria, including Judea, from the Ptolemies to the Seleucids.
Antiochus after this concluded peace, giving his own daughter Cleopatra I to Epiphanes to wife (193 -192 BC). Nevertheless, when war broke out between Antiochus and Rome, Egypt ranged itself with the latter power. Epiphanes in manhood was remarkable as a passionate sportsman; he excelled in athletic exercises and the chase.
Great cruelty and perfidy were displayed in the suppression of the native rebellion, and some accounts represent him as personally tyrannical. In 197 BC Lycopolis was held by the forces of Ankmachis, (also known as Chaonnophris) the secessionist pharaoh of Upper Egypt, but was forced to withdraw to Thebes. The war between North and South continued until 185 BC with the arrest of Ankmachis by Ptolemaic General Conanus.
The Rosetta Stone was a statement of thanks to the Egyptian priesthood for help during the crisis.
The elder of his two sons, Ptolemy VI Philometor (181-145 BC), succeeded as an infant under the regency of his mother Cleopatra the Syrian. Her death was followed by a rupture between the Ptolemaic and Seleucid courts, on the old question of Coele-Syria.
External links
- Ptolemy Epiphanes at LacusCurtius — (Chapter VIII of E. R. Bevan's House of Ptolemy, 1923)
- Ptolemy V — (Egyptian Royal Genealogy)
- The great revolt of the Egyptians (205–186 BC) Willy Clarysse Berkeley, April 2004
| Preceded by: Ptolemy IV Philopator |
Lagidae |
Succeeded by: Ptolemy VI Philometor |
References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
A portion of content for this article is credited to Wikipedia. Content under GNU Free Documentation License(GFDL)
