Ptolemy VI Philometor

Ptolemy VI
Ring of Ptolemy VI wearing a Greek diadem
King of Egypt
Predecessor	Ptolemy V
Successor	Ptolemy VIII
Royal titulary Prenomen  (Praenomen) wr-pḥtj nb-ḥbw-sd-mi-ptḥ tꜢ-ṯnn-jt-nṯrw jty-mj-rꜤ Iwaennetjerwyperu Setepenptahkheperi Irymaatamunre Heir of the two gods who has emerged, chosen by Ptah-Khepri, who carried out Maat (for) Amun-Ra Nomen ptwlmjs Ꜥnḫ-ḏtmrj-ptḥ Ptolemys Ankhdjetmeryptah Ptolemaios, living forever, beloved of Ptah Horus name ṯnj-m-ẖt ḥtr-ḥpw-Ꜥnḫ-ḥr-msḫnt.sn Tjeniemkhet Heterhapuankhhermeskhen(e)tsen Distinguished in the sanctuary, the twin brother of the living Apis bull upon their birth stone Nebty name m-mꜢꜤt sḫꜤj-n-sw-jt.f Emmaat sekhaensuitef Truly, whose father enthroned him Golden Horus wr-pḥtj nb-ḥbw-sd-mj-ptḥ tꜢ-ṯnn-jt-nṯrw ity-mj-rꜤ Werpehty Nebhabused Miptahtatjenenitnetjeru Itymire The one great of strength, a possessor of Sed festivals like Ptah Ta-Tjenen, the father of the gods, and a sovereign like Ra
Consort	Cleopatra II of Egypt
Children	With Cleopatra II: Ptolemy Eupator Ptolemy VII Cleopatra Thea Berenice (?) Cleopatra III of Egypt
Father	Ptolemy V Epiphanes
Mother	Cleopatra I of Egypt
Born	May/June 186 BC[note 1]
Died	145 BC (aged 41)
Burial	Alexandria

Ptolemy VI Philometor^{[note 2]} (Greek: Πτολεμαῖος Φιλομήτωρ, Ptolemaĩos Philomḗtōr "Ptolemy, lover of his Mother"; May/June 186–145 BC) was a king of Egypt from the Ptolemaic period. He reigned from 180 to 164 BC and from 163 to 145 BC;^[1] the eldest son of Ptolemy V Epiphanes and Cleopatra I of Egypt, he came to the throne as a very young child in 180 BC and the kingdom was governed by regents: his mother until her death in 178 or 177 BC and then two of her associates, Eulaeus and Lenaeus until 169 BC. From 170 BC, his sister-wife Cleopatra II and his younger brother Ptolemy VIII Euergetes were co-rulers alongside him.

Ptolemy VI's reign was characterised by external conflict with the Seleucid empire over Syria and by internal conflict with his younger brother for control of the Ptolemaic monarchy. In the Sixth Syrian War (170-168 BC), the Ptolemaic forces were utterly defeated and Egypt was twice invaded by Seleucid armies, his attempts to negotiate an end to this conflict exacerbated the conflict with his brother. Though he managed to collaborate with his brother for long enough to secure peace and re-establish order within Egypt, Ptolemy VIII succeeded in expelling Ptolemy VI from Egypt in 164 BC.

The people of Alexandria turned against Ptolemy VIII and invited Ptolemy VI back to the throne in 163 BC. In this second reign he was much more successful in both conflicts, he banished his brother to Cyrenaica and repeatedly prevented him from using that as a springboard to taking Cyprus, despite substantial Roman intervention in his brother's favour. By supporting a series of rival claimants for the Seleucid throne, Ptolemy VI helped instigate a civil war in the Seleucid realm, which would continue for generations and eventually consume the Seleucid dynasty. In 145 BC, Ptolemy invaded Seleucid Syria and won a total victory at the Battle of the Oenoparus, which left him in charge of both the Seleucid and Ptolemaic realms. However, injuries that he sustained in the battle led to his death three days later; the gains from the war were almost immediately lost and his brother Ptolemy VIII returned to power.

Background and early life[edit]

Ptolemy was the eldest son of Ptolemy V Epiphanes, who reigned from 204-180 BC. Ptolemy V's reign had been dominated by the Fifth Syrian War (204-198 BC), in which the Ptolemaic realm fought against the Seleucid king Antiochus III, who ruled the Near East and Asia Minor.In that war, Antiochus III had completely defeated the Ptolemaic forces, had annexed Coele-Syria and Judaea to his empire, and reduced Egypt to a subordinate position.^[2]

The new situation was solidified with a peace treaty, in which Ptolemy V was married Antiochus' daughter Cleopatra I in 194 BC.^[3] Ptolemy VI was the eldest son of the couple, born in 186 BC, probably in May or June.^{[note 1][1]} Ptolemy VI had two siblings: a sister, Cleopatra II, who was probably born between 186 and 184 BC, and a younger brother, the future Ptolemy VIII, his father advertised his position as heir within Egypt and to the wider world, for example by entering a chariot team under his name in the Panathenaic Games of 182 BC.^[4][1]

The defeat in the Fifth Syrian War cast a shadow over the rest of Ptolemy V's reign. One prominent faction within the Ptolemaic court agitated for a return to war in order to restore Egyptian prestige, while another faction resisted the expense involved in rebuilding and remilitarising the realm.^[5] Ptolemy V died unexpectedly in September 180 BC, at the age of only 30, it is possible that he was murdered as a result of this factional infighting - a late source claims that he had been poisoned.^[6]

First reign (180-164 BC)[edit]

Regencies[edit]

Ptolemy VI, who was only six years old, was immediately crowned king, with his mother Cleopatra I as co-regent. In documents from this period, Cleopatra is named before Ptolemy and coins were minted under the joint authority of her and her son.^[1] In the face of continued agitation for war with the Seleucids, Cleopatra pursued a peaceful policy, because of her own Seleucid roots and because a war would have threatened her hold on power.^[7][8] Cleopatra probably died in late 178 or early 177 BC, though some scholars place her death in late 176 BC.^[3]

Ptolemy was still too young to rule on his own. On her deathbed, Cleopatra appointed Eulaeus and Lenaeus, two of her close associates as regents. Eulaeus, a eunuch, who had been the Ptolemy's tutor, was the more senior of the two, even minting coinage in his own name. Lenaeus was a Syrian slave who had probably come to Egypt as part of Cleopatra's retinue when she got married, he seems to have been specifically in charge of managing the kingdom's finances.^[9]

Eulaeus and Lenaeus sought to reinforce their authority by augmenting the dignity of Ptolemy. In early 175 BC, they arranged the wedding of Ptolemy VI to his sister Cleopatra II. Brother-sister marriage was traditional in the Ptolemaic dynasty and was probably adopted in imitation of earlier Egyptian Pharaohs.^[10] Ptolemy and Cleopatra were still young children, so the marriage was not consummated for many years; they would eventually have at least four children together. At this time, the couple were incorporated into the Ptolemaic dynastic cult as the Theoi Philometores ('the Mother-loving Gods'), named in honour of the deceased Cleopatra I.^[1] In Egyptian religious contexts, the title recalled the relationship of the Pharaoh as Horus to his mother Isis.^[11]

Sixth Syrian War (170 BC-168 BC)[edit]

Antiochus IV Epiphanes

The Seleucid king Seleucus IV, who had followed a generally peaceful policy, was murdered in 175 BC and after two months of conflict his brother Antiochus IV Epiphanes secured the throne;^[12] the unsettled situation empowered the warhawks in the Ptolemaic court and the Eulaeus and Lenaeus were unable or unwilling to resist them than Cleopatra I had been. By 172 BC, preparations for war were underway.^[13] From 171 BC, both Rome and Macedon were occupied with the Third Macedonian War and the Egyptian government considered the moment for war had come.^[14][15]

In October 170 BC, Ptolemy VIII was promoted to the status of co-regent alongside his brother and sister; the current year was declared the first year of a new era.^[1][16] John Grainger argues that the two brothers had become the figureheads for separate factions at court and that these ceremonies were intended to promote unity within the court in the run-up to war.^[17] Shortly afterwards, Ptolemy VI who was now around sixteen was declared an adult and celebrated his coming-of-age ceremony (the anakleteria).^[18][19][1] Although Ptolemy VI was now ostensibly ruling in his own right, in practice Eulaeus and Lenaeus remained in charge of the government.

The Sixth Syrian War broke out shortly after this, probably in early 169 BC;^[20][19] the Ptolemaic army set out from the border fort of Pelusium to invade Palestine but was intercepted by Antiochus IV's army in the Sinai.^[21] The defeated army withdrew to the Nile Delta. Antiochus seized Pelusium and then moved on the Delta.^[22][23]

This defeat led to the collapse of the Ptolemaic government in Alexandria. Eulaeus attempted to send Ptolemy VI to the Aegean island of Samothrace with the Ptolemaic treasury.^[24] Before this could happen, however, two prominent Ptolemaic generals, Comanus and Cineas, launched a military coup and took control of Ptolemy's government;^[25] as Antiochus advanced on Alexandria, Ptolemy VI went out to meet him. They negotiated an agreement of friendship, which in effect reduced Ptolemy to a Seleucid client;^[26][27] when news of the agreement reached Alexandria, the people of the city rioted. Comanus and Cineas rejected the agreement, rejected Ptolemy VI's authority and declared Ptolemy VIII the sole king (Cleopatra II's position remained unchanged).^[28][29] Antiochus responded by placing Alexandria under siege, but he was unable to take the city and withdrew from Egypt in September 169 BC, as winter approached, leaving Ptolemy VI as his puppet king in Memphis and retaining a garrison in Pelusium.^[30][31]

Within two months, Ptolemy VI had reconciled with Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra II and returned to Alexandria; the restored government repudiated the agreement that Ptolemy VI had made with Antiochus and began to recruit new troops from Greece.^[32][33] In response, in spring 168 BC, Antiochus invaded Egypt for a second time. Officially, this invasion was presented as an effort to restore Ptolemy VI's position against his younger brother.^[34] Antiochus quickly occupied Memphis where he was crowned king of Egypt, and advanced on Alexandria.^[35] However, the Ptolemies had appealed to Rome for help over the winter and a Roman embassy led by Gaius Popillius Laenas confronted Antiochus at the town of Eleusis and forced him to agree to a settlement, bringing the war to an end.^[36][37][38]

Rebellions and expulsion (168-164 BC)[edit]

The complete failure of the Egyptian forces in the Sixth Syrian War left the Ptolemaic monarchy's prestige seriously diminished and caused a permanent rift between Ptolemy VI and Ptolemy VIII.^[39]

In 165 BC, Dionysius Petosarapis, a prominent courtier who appears to have been of native Egyptian origin, attempted to take advantage of their conflict in order to take control of the government, he announced to the people of Alexandria that Ptolemy VI had tried to get him to assassinate his younger brother and tried to whip up a mob to expel him. Ptolemy VI managed to convince Ptolemy VIII that the charges were untrue and the two brothers appeared publicly together in the stadium, defusing the crisis. Dionysius fled the city and convinced some military contingents to mutiny.^[40] Heavy fighting took place in the Fayyum over the next year.^[41][42][39] Apparently completely separately, another rebellion broke out simultaneously in the Thebaid - the latest in a series of rebellions that had tempted to overthrow the Ptolemies and re-establish native Egyptian rule. Ptolemy VI successfully suppressed the rebellion after a bitter siege at Panopolis.^{[43][41][44][39]}

Owing to the preceding years of conflict, many farms had been abandoned, threatening the government's agricultural revenue. In autumn 165 BC, the Ptolemies issued a royal decree On Agriculture to deal with this problem; this decree attempted to force land back into cultivation but was very unpopular and prompted widespread protests.^[45] A new branch of government, the Idios Logos (Special Account) was established to manage estates that had become royal property as a result of confiscation or abandonment.^[46]

Late in 164 BC,^[1] probably not long after Ptolemy VI had returned from the south, Ptolemy VIII, who was now about twenty years old, somehow expelled Ptolemy VI and Cleopatra II from power - the exact course of events is not known. Ptolemy VI fled to Rome for help, but seems to have received nothing.^[47] From there he moved on to Cyprus, which remained under his control.^[48]

Second reign (163-145 BC)[edit]

Stele of Ptolemy IV at Philae

In summer 163 BC, the people of Alexandria rioted against Ptolemy VIII, expelling him in turn and recalling Ptolemy VI. Ptolemy VI decided to come to an agreement with his younger brother and granted him control of Cyrenaica; this may have been done at the instigation of a pair of Roman agents present in Alexandria at the time. Egypt fell under the joint rule of Ptolemy VI and Cleopatra II, who ruled as an equal pair and were mentioned together in all official documents; this system of co-rule would be the norm for most of the rest of the Ptolemaic dynasty. The co-rule was inaugurated by an amnesty decree and a royal visit to Memphis to celebrate the Egyptian new year festival.^[49]

Throughout the 160s and 150s BC, Ptolemy VI reasserted Ptolemaic control over the northern part of Nubia; this achievement is heavily advertised at the Temple of Isis at Philae, which was granted the tax revenues of the Dodecaschoenus region in 157 BC. Two new cities, named Philometris and Cleopatra in honour of the royal couple, were founded in the Triacontaschoenus.^[50][51][52]

A large group of Jewish immigrants arrived in Egypt in the 160s BC, fleeing civil conflict with the Maccabees; this group was led by Onias IV, son of a former high priest who had been deposed by the Seleucids. Ptolemy VI permitted them to settled at Leontopolis, which became known as the 'Land of Onias', and to establish a temple with Onias as High Priest.^[53] Onias was also granted an important military position and his family became prominent members of the royal court, it was possibly also at this time that the Jewish population of Alexandria was granted a form of self-government under their own ethnarch.^[54]

Conflicts with Ptolemy VIII and the Seleucids[edit]

Coin of Ptolemy VIII

Ring of Ptolemy VI Philometor as Egyptian pharaoh (Louvre)

Ptolemy VIII was not satisfied with Cyrenaica and went to Rome in late 163 or early 162 BC to request help; the Senate agreed that the division was unfair, declaring that Ptolemy VIII ought to receive Cyprus as well. Titus Manlius Torquatus and Gnaeus Cornelius Merula were sent as envoys to force Ptolemy VI to concede this, but he procrastinated and obfuscated. On their return to Rome at the end of 162 BC, they convinced the Roman Senate to abandon their alliance with Ptolemy VI and to grant Ptolemy VIII permission to use force to take control of Cyprus;^[55][56] the Senate offered him no actual support in this endeavour and Cyprus remained in Ptolemy VI's hands.^[57][58][52]

In 162 BC, Ptolemy VI was also involved in a scheme to destabilise the Seleucid kingdom, his agents in Rome helped a Seleucid prince, Demetrius I Soter, escape from captivity and return to Syria to seize control of the Seleucid empire from the under-age king Antiochus V Eupator. Once Demetrius was in power, however, their interests began to diverge and the prospect of war between the two kingdoms returned.^[59] In 158 or 154 BC, Ptolemy VI's governor of Cyprus, Archias, attempted to sell the island to Demetrius for 500 talents, but he was caught and hanged himself before this plot came to fruition.^[60][61][62]

In 154 BC, after surviving an assassination attempt which he blamed on his brother, Ptolemy VIII again appealed for assistance against his brother to the Roman Senate which agreed to send a second embassy, led by Gnaeus Cornelius Merula and Lucius Minucius Thermus, equipped with troops, in order to enforce the transfer of Cyprus to his control.^[63] In response, Ptolemy VI besieged his younger brother at Lapethus and captured him, he persuaded Ptolemy VIII to withdraw from Cyprus, in exchange for continued possession of Cyrenaica, an annual payment of grain, and a promise of marriage to one of his infant daughters once she came of age.^[64][65][66]

As a result of the conflict with his brother, Ptolemy VI made particular efforts to advance his eldest son Ptolemy Eupator as heir; the young prince was made priest of Alexander and the royal cult in 158 BC, when he was only eight years old. At age fourteen, in spring 152 BC, Ptolemy Eupator was promoted to full co-regent alongside his parents, but he died in autumn of the same year; this left the succession very uncertain, since Ptolemy's remaining son was very young. He began advancing his daughter, Cleopatra III, formerly deifying her in 146 BC.

Intervention in Syria (152-145 BC)[edit]

Coin of Alexander Balas

A new claimant to the Seleucid throne, Alexander I Balas, appeared in 153 BC. John Grainger proposes that Ptolemy VI provided Alexander with financial backing, naval transport, and secured Ptolemais Akko as a landing base for him, he argues that Alexander's chancellor Ammonius should be seen as a Ptolemaic agent.^[67] There is however no explicit evidence for this, and Boris Chrubasik presents Alexander's initial successes as accomplished without any Ptolemaic involvement, and challenges the identification of Ammonius as an Egyptian in particular. At any rate, an agreement between the kings was sealed in 150 BC, when Ptolemy VI married his teenage daughter Cleopatra Thea to Alexander in a ceremony at Ptolemais Akko.^[68][69][70]

Coin of Demetrius II Nicator

By May 146 BC, however, Ptolemy was gathering troops and in 145 BC Ptolemy VI invaded Syria while Alexander was putting down a rebellion in Cilicia. Ptolemy passed through Judaea from Alexander's vassal Jonathan Maccabee. Ostensibly, Ptolemy acted in support of Alexander against the latest claimant of the Seleucid throne, Demetrius II. In practice, Ptolemy's intervention came at a heavy cost; he took control of all the Seleucid cities along the coast, including Seleucia Pieria,^[71] he may also have started minting his own coinage in the Syrian cities.^[72][69][73]

While he was at Ptolemais Akko, however, Ptolemy switched sides. According to Josephus, Ptolemy discovered that Alexander's chancellor, Ammonius, had been plotting to assassinate him, but when he demanded that Ammonius be punished, Alexander refused.^[74] Ptolemy remarried his daughter to Demetrius II and continued his march northward; the commanders of Antioch, Diodotus and Hierax, surrendered the city to Ptolemy and crowned him king of Asia. For a short period, documents referred to him as King of Egypt and Asia. However, fearing that a unification of the Ptolemaic and Seleucid kingdoms would lead to Roman intervention, Ptolemy decided to abandon the title. Instead, he limited himself to annexing Coele Syria and pledged to serve as a "tutor in goodness and guide" to Demetrius II.^[75][69][73]

Alexander returned from Cilicia with his army, but Ptolemy VI and Demetrius II defeated his forces at the Oenoparas river.^[76] Alexander then fled to Arabia, where he was killed, his decapitated head was brought to Ptolemy. For the first time since the death of Alexander the Great, Egypt and Syria were united. However, Ptolemy had been wounded in the battle and he died three days later.^[77] By late 145, Demetrius II had expelled all Ptolemaic troops from Syria and reasserted Seleucid control by leading his own forces all the way down to the Egyptian border.^[78][79]

Marriage and issue[edit]

Ptolemy V Philometor married his sister Cleopatra II in 173 BC, and they had the following issue:

Name	Image	Birth	Death	Notes
Ptolemy Eupator		15 October 166 BC	August 152 BC	Briefly co-regent with his father in 152 BC.
Cleopatra Thea		c. 164 BC	121/0 BC	Married in succession to the Seleucid kings Alexander I, Demetrius II, and Antiochus VII.
Cleopatra III		160-155 BC?	September 101 BC	Married her uncle Ptolemy VIII, ruled as senior co-regent with her sons Ptolemy IX and Ptolemy X from 116/5-101 BC.
Ptolemy		c. 152 BC	130 BC?	Sometimes identified with the shadowy Ptolemy Neos Philopator, who was briefly a juniorco-regent in the 130s BC.
Berenice		160s BC?	Before 133 BC	Briefly engaged to Attalus III of Pergamum, her parentage and even her membership of the Ptolemaic dynasty is entirely hypothetical.

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

• Chrubasik, Boris (2016). Kings and Usurpers in the Seleukid Empire: The Men who would be King. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 131–5. ISBN 9780198786924.
• Grainger, John D. (2010). The Syrian Wars. pp. 281–328. ISBN 9789004180505.
• Hölbl, Günther (2001). A History of the Ptolemaic Empire. London & New York: Routledge. pp. 143-152 & 181-194. ISBN 0415201454.
• Morkholm, Otto (1961). "Eulaios and Lenaios". Classica et Medievalia. 22: 32–43.

External links[edit]

• Ptolemy Philometor at LacusCurtius — (Chapter IX of E. R. Bevan's House of Ptolemy, 1923)
• Ptolemy VI — (Egyptian Royal Genealogy)
• Ptolemy VI Philometor entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith