- Ptolemy V Epiphanes
Ptolemy V Epiphanes (Greek: polytonic|Πτολεμαῖος Ἐπιφανής, "Ptolemaĩos Epiphanḗs", reigned 204–
181 BCE ), son of Ptolemy IV Philopator andArsinoe III of Egypt , was the 5th ruler of thePtolemaic 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. In202 BCE however Tlepolemus, the general in charge ofPelusium , 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 [ http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Africa/Egypt/_Texts/BEVHOP/8*.html Bevan Chapter 8] .Antiochus III the Great andPhilip V of Macedon made a pact to divide the Ptolemaic possessions overseas. Philip seized several islands and places inCaria andThrace , whilst theBattle of Panium (198 BCE ) definitely transferredCoele-Syria , includingJudea , 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 ofAnkmachis , (also known as Chaonnophris) the secessionist pharaoh of Upper Egypt, but was forced to withdraw to Thebes. The war between North and South continued until185 BCE with the arrest ofAnkmachis 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. [ http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Africa/Egypt/_Texts/BEVHOP/8*.html Bevan Chapter 8] .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
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External links
* [http://virtualreligion.net/iho/ptolemy_5.html Ptolemy V Epiphanes] entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith
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