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(Created page with "{{Short description|Pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt, 284 – 246 BCE}} {{redirect-multi|2|Ptolemy II|Ptolemy Philadelphus|the Greek prince and client king|Ptolemy II of Telmessos|the medieval Italian count|Ptolemy II of Tusculum|the son of Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony|Ptolemy Philadelphus (son of Cleopatra)}} {{Infobox pharaoh | name = Ptolemy II Philadelphus | image = Ptolemy II MAN Napoli Inv5600.jpg | caption = Bust of Ptolemy II, National Archaeologic...") Tags: Mobile edit Mobile web edit |
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At Ptolemy II's birth, his older half-brother Ptolemy Keraunos was the heir presumptive. As Ptolemy II grew older a struggle for the succession developed between them, which culminated in Ptolemy Keraunos' departure from Egypt around 287 BC. On 28 March 284 BC, Ptolemy I had Ptolemy II declared king, formally elevating him to the status of co-regent.<ref>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|pp=24–5}}</ref><ref name=BennettI>{{cite web |last1=Bennett |first1=Chris |title=Ptolemy I |url=http://instonebrewer.com/TyndaleSites/Egypt/ptolemies/ptolemy_i_fr.htm |website=Egyptian Royal Genealogy |access-date=10 October 2019}}</ref> | At Ptolemy II's birth, his older half-brother Ptolemy Keraunos was the heir presumptive. As Ptolemy II grew older a struggle for the succession developed between them, which culminated in Ptolemy Keraunos' departure from Egypt around 287 BC. On 28 March 284 BC, Ptolemy I had Ptolemy II declared king, formally elevating him to the status of co-regent.<ref>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|pp=24–5}}</ref><ref name=BennettI>{{cite web |last1=Bennett |first1=Chris |title=Ptolemy I |url=http://instonebrewer.com/TyndaleSites/Egypt/ptolemies/ptolemy_i_fr.htm |website=Egyptian Royal Genealogy |access-date=10 October 2019}}</ref> | ||
In contemporary documents, Ptolemy is usually referred to as "King Ptolemy son of Ptolemy" to distinguish him from his father. The co-regency between Ptolemy II and his father continued until the latter's death in April–June 282 BC. One ancient account claims that Ptolemy II murdered his father, but other sources say that he died of old age, which is more likely given that he was in his mid-eighties.<ref>Murder: [[Cornelius Nepos]] XXI.3; Illness: [[Justin (historian)|Justin]] 16.2.</ref | In contemporary documents, Ptolemy is usually referred to as "King Ptolemy son of Ptolemy" to distinguish him from his father. The co-regency between Ptolemy II and his father continued until the latter's death in April–June 282 BC. One ancient account claims that Ptolemy II murdered his father, but other sources say that he died of old age, which is more likely given that he was in his mid-eighties.<ref name=BennettI/><ref>Murder: [[Cornelius Nepos]] XXI.3; Illness: [[Justin (historian)|Justin]] 16.2.</ref><ref group=notes>C. Bennett established the date of Ptolemy I's death in April–June. Previously, the standard date was January 282 BC, following A.E. Samuel ''Ptolemaic Chronology''.</ref> | ||
==Reign== | ==Reign== | ||
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Seleucus I's son [[Antiochus I]] spent several years fighting to re-establish control over his father's empire. Ptolemy II took advantage of this to expand his realm at Seleucid expense. The acquisitions of the Ptolemaic kingdom at this time can be traced in [[epigraphic]] sources and seem to include [[Samos]], [[Miletus]], [[Caria]], [[Lycia]], [[Pamphylia]], and perhaps [[Cilicia]]. Antiochus I acquiesced to these losses in 279 BC, but began to build up his forces for a rematch.<ref>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|p=38}}</ref> | Seleucus I's son [[Antiochus I]] spent several years fighting to re-establish control over his father's empire. Ptolemy II took advantage of this to expand his realm at Seleucid expense. The acquisitions of the Ptolemaic kingdom at this time can be traced in [[epigraphic]] sources and seem to include [[Samos]], [[Miletus]], [[Caria]], [[Lycia]], [[Pamphylia]], and perhaps [[Cilicia]]. Antiochus I acquiesced to these losses in 279 BC, but began to build up his forces for a rematch.<ref>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|p=38}}</ref> | ||
Antiochus did this by pursuing ties with Ptolemy II's maternal half-brother, Magas, who had been governor of [[Cyrenaica]] since around 300 BC and had declared himself king of [[Cyrene, Libya|Cyrene]] sometime after Ptolemy I's death. Around 275 BC Antiochus entered into an alliance with Magas by marrying his daughter [[Apama II|Apama]] to him.<ref>Pausanias 1.7.3</ref> Shortly thereafter, Magas invaded Egypt, marching on Alexandria, but he was forced to turn back when the [[Libyans|Libyan]] nomads launched an attack on Cyrene. At this same moment, Ptolemy's own forces were hamstrung. He had hired 4,000 [[ | Antiochus did this by pursuing ties with Ptolemy II's maternal half-brother, Magas, who had been governor of [[Cyrenaica]] since around 300 BC and had declared himself king of [[Cyrene, Libya|Cyrene]] sometime after Ptolemy I's death. Around 275 BC Antiochus entered into an alliance with Magas by marrying his daughter [[Apama II|Apama]] to him.<ref>Pausanias 1.7.3</ref> Shortly thereafter, Magas invaded Egypt, marching on Alexandria, but he was forced to turn back when the [[Libyans|Libyan]] nomads launched an attack on Cyrene. At this same moment, Ptolemy's own forces were hamstrung. He had hired 4,000 [[galatia]]n mercenaries, but soon after their arrival the Gauls mutinied and so Ptolemy marooned them on a deserted island in the [[Nile]] where "they perished at one another's hands or by famine."<ref name=hinds>{{cite book|last=Hinds|first=Kathryn|title=Ancient Celts: Europe's Tribal Ancestors|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uQmdaIQ3HjkC&pg=PA38|date=September 2009|publisher=Marshall Cavendish|isbn=978-0-7614-4514-2|page=38}}</ref> This victory was celebrated on a grand scale. Several of Ptolemy's contemporary kings had fought serious wars against Gallic invasions in Greece and Asia Minor, and Ptolemy presented his own victory as equivalent to theirs.<ref>Pausanias 1.7.2; [[Callimachus]] ''Hymn'' 4.185-7, with [[Scholia]]</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|p=39}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Mitchell |first1=Stephen |editor1-last=Erskine |editor1-first=Andrew |title=A Companion to the Hellenistic World |url=https://archive.org/details/companiontohelle00ersk |url-access=limited |date=2003 |publisher=[[Blackwell Publishers|Blackwell]] |location=Oxford |pages=[https://archive.org/details/companiontohelle00ersk/page/n301 280]–293 |chapter=The Galatians: Representation and Reality|isbn=9780631225379 }}</ref> | ||
Around this time Ptolemy was also ostensibly considering some military action in [[Pre-Islamic Arabia]], and so sent [[Ariston (explorer)|Ariston]] to reconnoiter the western coast of Arabia.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Ptolemy II and Arabia |journal=[[The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology]] |last=Tarn |first=W. W. |date= |issue=1 |volume=15 |pages= | Around this time Ptolemy was also ostensibly considering some military action in [[Pre-Islamic Arabia]], and so sent [[Ariston (explorer)|Ariston]] to reconnoiter the western coast of Arabia.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Ptolemy II and Arabia |journal=[[The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology]] |last=Tarn |first=W. W. |date= |issue=1 |volume=15 |pages=9–25 |doi=10.1177/030751332901500103 |language=en |jstor=3854009 |author-link=William Woodthorpe Tarn}}</ref> | ||
===Invasion of Nubia (c. 275 BC)=== | ===Invasion of Nubia (c. 275 BC)=== | ||
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* It is possible, but not certain, that Antigonus was still at war with Ptolemy II during this period and that his great naval victory over Ptolemy at the Battle of Kos (mentioned above) took place in 255 BC within the context of the Second Syrian War.<ref name=H44/> | * It is possible, but not certain, that Antigonus was still at war with Ptolemy II during this period and that his great naval victory over Ptolemy at the Battle of Kos (mentioned above) took place in 255 BC within the context of the Second Syrian War.<ref name=H44/> | ||
In 253 BC, Ptolemy negotiated a peace treaty, in which he conceded large amounts of territory in Asia Minor to Antiochus. The peace was sealed by Antiochus' marriage to Ptolemy's daughter [[Berenice (Seleucid queen)|Berenice]], which took place in 252 BC. Ptolemy presented large indemnity payments to the Seleucids as the [[dowry]] connected to this wedding.<ref>[[Porphyry (philosopher)|Porphyry]] ''FGrH'' 260 F 43</ref | In 253 BC, Ptolemy negotiated a peace treaty, in which he conceded large amounts of territory in Asia Minor to Antiochus. The peace was sealed by Antiochus' marriage to Ptolemy's daughter [[Berenice (Seleucid queen)|Berenice]], which took place in 252 BC. Ptolemy presented large indemnity payments to the Seleucids as the [[dowry]] connected to this wedding.<ref name=H44/><ref>[[Porphyry (philosopher)|Porphyry]] ''FGrH'' 260 F 43</ref> | ||
After the war was over, in July 253 BC Ptolemy travelled to [[Memphis, Egypt|Memphis]]. There he rewarded his soldiers by distributing large plots of land that had been reclaimed from [[Lake Moeris]] in the [[Fayyum]] to them as estates (''[[kleros|kleroi]]''). The area was established as a new nome, named the Arsinoite nome, in honour of the long-dead Arsinoe II.<ref>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|p=61}}</ref> | After the war was over, in July 253 BC Ptolemy travelled to [[Memphis, Egypt|Memphis]]. There he rewarded his soldiers by distributing large plots of land that had been reclaimed from [[Lake Moeris]] in the [[Fayyum]] to them as estates (''[[kleros|kleroi]]''). The area was established as a new nome, named the Arsinoite nome, in honour of the long-dead Arsinoe II.<ref>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|p=61}}</ref> | ||
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The [[eponymous archon|eponymous priest]] of the deified Alexander, who served annually and whose name was used to date all official documents, became the 'Priest of Alexander and the Theoi Adelphoi'. Each subsequent royal couple would be added to the priest's title until the late second century BC. In artistic depictions, Ptolemy II was often depicted with divine attributes, namely the club of [[Heracles]] and the elephant-scalp headdress associated with Alexander the Great, while Arsinoe was shown carrying a pair of [[cornucopia]]e with a small ram's horn behind her ear.<ref name=H948>{{harvnb|Holbl|2001|pp=94–98}}</ref> | The [[eponymous archon|eponymous priest]] of the deified Alexander, who served annually and whose name was used to date all official documents, became the 'Priest of Alexander and the Theoi Adelphoi'. Each subsequent royal couple would be added to the priest's title until the late second century BC. In artistic depictions, Ptolemy II was often depicted with divine attributes, namely the club of [[Heracles]] and the elephant-scalp headdress associated with Alexander the Great, while Arsinoe was shown carrying a pair of [[cornucopia]]e with a small ram's horn behind her ear.<ref name=H948>{{harvnb|Holbl|2001|pp=94–98}}</ref> | ||
Ptolemy also instituted cults for a number of relatives. Following her death around 269 BC, Arsinoe II was honoured with a separate cult in her own right, with every temple in Egypt required to include a statue of her as a 'temple-sharing deity' alongside the sanctuary's main god. Her cult would prove extremely popular in Egypt throughout the Ptolemaic period. Ptolemy's other sister [[Philotera]] also received a cult. Even Ptolemy's mistress [[Bilistiche]] received sanctuaries in which she was identified with the goddess [[Aphrodite]].<ref>[[Plutarch]] ''Moralia'' 753F</ref | Ptolemy also instituted cults for a number of relatives. Following her death around 269 BC, Arsinoe II was honoured with a separate cult in her own right, with every temple in Egypt required to include a statue of her as a 'temple-sharing deity' alongside the sanctuary's main god. Her cult would prove extremely popular in Egypt throughout the Ptolemaic period. Ptolemy's other sister [[Philotera]] also received a cult. Even Ptolemy's mistress [[Bilistiche]] received sanctuaries in which she was identified with the goddess [[Aphrodite]].<ref name=H948/><ref>[[Plutarch]] ''Moralia'' 753F</ref> | ||
A festival, called the ''Ptolemaia'', was held in Ptolemy I's honour at Alexandria every four years from 279/278 BC. The festival provided an opportunity for Ptolemy II to showcase the splendour, wealth, and reach of the Ptolemaic empire. One of the Ptolemaia festivals from the 270s BC was described by the historian [[Callixenus of Rhodes]] and part of his account survives, giving a sense of the enormous scale of the event. The festival included a feast for 130 people in a vast royal pavilion and athletic competitions. The highlight was a Grand Procession, composed on a number of individual processions in honour of each of the gods, beginning with the [[Phosphorus (morning star)|Morning Star]], followed by the ''Theoi Soteres'', and culminating with the Evening Star. The procession for [[Dionysus]] alone contained dozens of [[festival float]]s, each pulled by hundreds of people, including a four-metre high statue of Dionysus himself, several vast wine-sacks and wine [[krater]]es, a range of [[wikt:tableau|tableau]]x of mythological or allegorical scenes, many with [[automata]], and hundreds of people dressed in costume as [[satyr]]s, [[silenus|sileni]], and [[maenad]]s. Twenty-four chariots drawn by elephants were followed by a procession of lions, leopards, panthers, camels, antelopes, wild asses, ostriches, a bear, a giraffe and a rhinoceros.<ref>Callixenus ''[[FGrH]]'' 627 F2 = [[Athenaeus]], ''[[Deipnosophists]]'', 5.196a-203be; detailed studies in: {{cite book |last1=Rice |first1=E. E. |title=The grand procession of Ptolemy Philadelphus |date=1983 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford}} and {{cite book |last1=Hazzard |first1=R. A. |title=Imagination of a monarchy : studies in Ptolemaic propaganda |date=2000 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=9780802043139 |pages=60–81}}</ref> | A festival, called the ''Ptolemaia'', was held in Ptolemy I's honour at Alexandria every four years from 279/278 BC. The festival provided an opportunity for Ptolemy II to showcase the splendour, wealth, and reach of the Ptolemaic empire. One of the Ptolemaia festivals from the 270s BC was described by the historian [[Callixenus of Rhodes]] and part of his account survives, giving a sense of the enormous scale of the event. The festival included a feast for 130 people in a vast royal pavilion and athletic competitions. The highlight was a Grand Procession, composed on a number of individual processions in honour of each of the gods, beginning with the [[Phosphorus (morning star)|Morning Star]], followed by the ''Theoi Soteres'', and culminating with the Evening Star. The procession for [[Dionysus]] alone contained dozens of [[festival float]]s, each pulled by hundreds of people, including a four-metre high statue of Dionysus himself, several vast wine-sacks and wine [[krater]]es, a range of [[wikt:tableau|tableau]]x of mythological or allegorical scenes, many with [[automata]], and hundreds of people dressed in costume as [[satyr]]s, [[silenus|sileni]], and [[maenad]]s. Twenty-four chariots drawn by elephants were followed by a procession of lions, leopards, panthers, camels, antelopes, wild asses, ostriches, a bear, a giraffe and a rhinoceros.<ref>Callixenus ''[[FGrH]]'' 627 F2 = [[Athenaeus]], ''[[Deipnosophists]]'', 5.196a-203be; detailed studies in: {{cite book |last1=Rice |first1=E. E. |title=The grand procession of Ptolemy Philadelphus |date=1983 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford}} and {{cite book |last1=Hazzard |first1=R. A. |title=Imagination of a monarchy : studies in Ptolemaic propaganda |date=2000 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=9780802043139 |pages=60–81}}</ref> | ||
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Ptolemy II and King [[Hiero II of Syracuse]] are regularly referred to as having enjoyed particularly close relations. There is substantial evidence for the exchange of goods and ideas between Syracuse and Alexandria. Hiero seems to have modelled various aspects of his royal self-representation and perhaps his tax system, the ''[[Lex Hieronica]]'' on Ptolemaic models. Two of the luminaries of Ptolemy II's court, the poet [[Theocritus]] and the mathematician and engineer [[Archimedes]] came from and eventually returned to Syracuse.<ref>{{cite book |last1=De Sensi Sestito |first1=Giovanna |editor1-last=Caccamo Caltabiano |editor1-first=Maria |title=La Sicilia tra l'Egitto e Roma: la monetazione siracusana dell'età di Ierone II |date=1995 |publisher=Accademia peloritana dei pericolanti |location=Messina |pages=38–44 & 63–64 |chapter=Rapporti tra la Sicilia, Roma e l'Egitto}}</ref> Numismatic evidence seems to indicate that Ptolemy II funded Hiero II's original rise to power – a series of Ptolemaic bronze coins known as the 'Galatian shield without Sigma' minted between 271 and 265 BC, have been shown to have been minted in Sicily itself, on the basis of their style, flan shape, die axes, weight and find spots. The first set seem to have been minted by a Ptolemaic mint, perhaps left there in 276 BC after [[Pyrrhus of Epirus]]' withdrawal from Sicily. They are succeeded by a series that seems to have been minted by the regular Syracusan mint, perhaps on the outbreak of the [[First Punic War]] in 265 BC.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wolf |first1=Daniel |last2=Lorber |first2=Catharine |title=The 'Galatian Shield without Σ' Series |journal=The Numismatic Chronicle |date=2011 |volume=171 |pages=7–57}}</ref> | Ptolemy II and King [[Hiero II of Syracuse]] are regularly referred to as having enjoyed particularly close relations. There is substantial evidence for the exchange of goods and ideas between Syracuse and Alexandria. Hiero seems to have modelled various aspects of his royal self-representation and perhaps his tax system, the ''[[Lex Hieronica]]'' on Ptolemaic models. Two of the luminaries of Ptolemy II's court, the poet [[Theocritus]] and the mathematician and engineer [[Archimedes]] came from and eventually returned to Syracuse.<ref>{{cite book |last1=De Sensi Sestito |first1=Giovanna |editor1-last=Caccamo Caltabiano |editor1-first=Maria |title=La Sicilia tra l'Egitto e Roma: la monetazione siracusana dell'età di Ierone II |date=1995 |publisher=Accademia peloritana dei pericolanti |location=Messina |pages=38–44 & 63–64 |chapter=Rapporti tra la Sicilia, Roma e l'Egitto}}</ref> Numismatic evidence seems to indicate that Ptolemy II funded Hiero II's original rise to power – a series of Ptolemaic bronze coins known as the 'Galatian shield without Sigma' minted between 271 and 265 BC, have been shown to have been minted in Sicily itself, on the basis of their style, flan shape, die axes, weight and find spots. The first set seem to have been minted by a Ptolemaic mint, perhaps left there in 276 BC after [[Pyrrhus of Epirus]]' withdrawal from Sicily. They are succeeded by a series that seems to have been minted by the regular Syracusan mint, perhaps on the outbreak of the [[First Punic War]] in 265 BC.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wolf |first1=Daniel |last2=Lorber |first2=Catharine |title=The 'Galatian Shield without Σ' Series |journal=The Numismatic Chronicle |date=2011 |volume=171 |pages=7–57}}</ref> | ||
Ptolemy II cultivated good relations with [[Carthage]], in contrast to his father, who seems to have gone to war with them at least once. One reason for this may have been the desire to outflank Magas of Cyrene, who shared a border with the Carthaginian empire at the [[History of Carthage#Cyrene and Carthage|Altars of Philaeni]].<ref name=H54>{{harvnb|Holbl|2001|p=54}}</ref> Ptolemy was also the first Egyptian ruler to enter into formal relations with the [[Roman Republic]]. An embassy from Ptolemy visited the city of Rome in 273 BC and established a relationship of friendship ([[Latin language|Latin]]: ''amicitia'').<ref>[[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]] ''Roman Antiquities'' 14.1; [[Livy]] ''Periochae'' 14.</ref> These two friendships were tested in 264 BC, when the [[First Punic War]] broke out between Carthage and Rome, but Ptolemy II remained studiously neutral in the conflict, refusing a direct Carthaginian request for financial assistance.<ref>[[Appian]] ''Sicelica'' 1</ref | Ptolemy II cultivated good relations with [[Carthage]], in contrast to his father, who seems to have gone to war with them at least once. One reason for this may have been the desire to outflank Magas of Cyrene, who shared a border with the Carthaginian empire at the [[History of Carthage#Cyrene and Carthage|Altars of Philaeni]].<ref name=H54>{{harvnb|Holbl|2001|p=54}}</ref> Ptolemy was also the first Egyptian ruler to enter into formal relations with the [[Roman Republic]]. An embassy from Ptolemy visited the city of Rome in 273 BC and established a relationship of friendship ([[Latin language|Latin]]: ''amicitia'').<ref>[[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]] ''Roman Antiquities'' 14.1; [[Livy]] ''Periochae'' 14.</ref> These two friendships were tested in 264 BC, when the [[First Punic War]] broke out between Carthage and Rome, but Ptolemy II remained studiously neutral in the conflict, refusing a direct Carthaginian request for financial assistance.<ref name=H54/><ref>[[Appian]] ''Sicelica'' 1</ref> | ||
===Relations with India=== | ===Relations with India=== | ||
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==Marriages and issue== | ==Marriages and issue== | ||
Ptolemy married Arsinoe I, daughter of Lysimachus, between 284 and 281 BC. She was the mother of his legitimate children: | Ptolemy married Arsinoe I, daughter of Lysimachus, between 284 and 281 BC. She was the mother of his legitimate children:<ref name="BennettPtolII">{{cite web |last1=Bennett |first1=Chris |title=Ptolemy II |url=http://instonebrewer.com/TyndaleSites/Egypt/ptolemies/ptolemy_ii_fr.htm |website=Egyptian Royal Genealogy |access-date=10 October 2019}}</ref><ref name=ancientegyptonline>{{cite web|url=http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/PtolemyII.html|title=Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt|publisher=Ancient Egypt Online|access-date=22 May 2013}}</ref> | ||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||