This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Ptolemy V is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
Ptolemy V Epiphanes (Greek: Πτολεμαῖος Ἐπιφανής, Ptolemaĩos Epiphanḗs, reigned 204–181 BCE), son of Ptolemy IV Philopator and Arsinoe III of Egypt, was the 5th ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty. He became ruler at the age of five, and under a series of regents the kingdom was paralyzed.
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, which secured the regency for themselves. In 202 BCE however Tlepolemus, the general in charge of Pelusium, put himself at the head of a revolt. Once Epiphanes was in the hands of Tlepolemus he was persuaded to give a sign that the killers of his mother should be killed. According to Bevan the child king's consent was given more from fear than anything else and Agathocles along with several of his supporters being killed by the Alexandrian mob 1.
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 BCE) 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 BCE). 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 BCE 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 BCE with the arrest of Ankmachis by Ptolemaic General Conanus.
In 183 BCE/184 BCE The rebels in Lower Egypt surrendered on the basis of terms that Epiphanes had given his personal to honour. However, showing himself in the opinion of Bevan treacherous and vindictive he had them put to death in a cruel manner.2.
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 BCE), 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.
References
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
External links
- Ptolemy V Epiphanes entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith
| Preceded by Ptolemy IV Philopator |
Ptolemaic dynasty 204-181 BCE |
Succeeded by Ptolemy VI Philometor |
Notes
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 9 October 2008, at 21:31.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Ptolemy V".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.