when pregnant by Philip of Macedonia, married Lagus, a man of mean
extraction. _See:_ Lagus. Ptolemy was educated in the court of the
king of Macedonia; he became one of the friends and associates of
Alexander, and when that monarch invaded Asia, the son of Arsinoe
attended him as one of his generals. During the expedition, he
behaved with uncommon valour; he killed one of the Indian monarchs
in single combat, and it was to his prudence and courage that
Alexander was indebted for the reduction of the rock Aornus. After
the conqueror’s death, in the general division of the Macedonian
empire, Ptolemy obtained as his share the government of Egypt, with
Libya, and part of the neighbouring territories of Arabia. In this
appointment the governor soon gained the esteem of the people by
acts of kindness, by benevolence, and clemency; and though he did not
assume the title of independent monarch till 19 years after, yet he
was so firmly established, that the attempts of Perdiccas to drive
him away from his possessions proved abortive; and Ptolemy, after the
murder of his rival by Grecian soldiers, might have added the kingdom
of Macedonia to his Egyptian territories. He made himself master of
Cœlosyria, Phœnicia, and the neighbouring coast of Syria, and when he
had reduced Jerusalem, he carried about 100,000 prisoners to Egypt,
to people the extensive city of Alexandria, which became the capital
of his dominions. After he had rendered these prisoners the most
attached and faithful of his subjects by his liberality and the
grant of privileges, Ptolemy assumed the title of king of Egypt, and
soon after reduced Cyprus under his power. He made war with success
against Demetrius and Antigonus, who disputed his right to the
provinces of Syria, and from the assistance he gave to the people of
Rhodes against their common enemies, he received the name of _Soter_.
While he extended his dominions, Ptolemy was not negligent of the
advantages of his people. The bay of Alexandria being dangerous of
access, he built a tower to conduct the sailors in the obscurity of
the night [_See:_ Pharos], and that his subjects might be acquainted
with literature, he laid the foundation of a library, which, under
the succeeding reigns, became the most celebrated in the world. He
also established in the capital of his dominions a society called
_museum_, of which the members, maintained at the public expense,
were employed in philosophical researches, and in the advancement of
science and the liberal arts. Ptolemy died in the 84th year of his
age, after a reign of 39 years, about 284 years before Christ. He was
succeeded by his son Ptolemy Philadelphus, who had been his partner
on the throne the last 10 years of his reign. Ptolemy Lagus has been
commended for his abilities, not only as a sovereign, but as a writer,
and among the many valuable compositions which have been lost, we
are to lament a history of Alexander the Great, by the king of Egypt,
greatly admired and valued for elegance and authenticity. All his
successors were called _Ptolemies_ from him. _Pausanias_, bk. 10, ch.
7.――_Justin_, bk. 13, &c.――_Polybius_, bk. 2.――_Arrian._――_Curtius._
――_Plutarch_, _Alexander_.
=Ptolemæus II.=, son of Ptolemy I., succeeded his father on the
Egyptian throne, and was called _Philadelphus_ by antiphrasis,
because he killed two of his brothers. He showed himself worthy in
every respect to succeed his great father, and, conscious of the
advantages which arise from an alliance with powerful nations, he
sent ambassadors to Italy to solicit the friendship of the Romans,
whose name and military reputation had become universally known
for the victories which they had just obtained over Pyrrhus and
the Tarentines. His ambassadors were received with marks of the
greatest attention, and immediately after four Roman senators came
to Alexandria, where they gained the admiration of the monarch and
of his subjects, and, by refusing the crowns of gold and the rich
presents which were offered to them, convinced the world of the
virtue and of the disinterestedness of their nation. But while
Ptolemy strengthened himself by alliance with foreign powers, the
internal peace of his kingdom was disturbed by the revolt of Magas
his brother, king of Cyrene. The sedition, however, was stopped,
though kindled by Antiochus king of Syria, and the death of the
rebellious prince re-established peace for some time in the family of
Philadelphus. Antiochus the Syrian king married Berenice the daughter
of Ptolemy, and the father, though old and infirm, conducted his
daughter to her husband’s kingdom, and assisted at the nuptials.
Philadelphus died in the 64th year of his age, 246 years before
the christian era. He left two sons and a daughter by Arsinoe the
daughter of Lysimachus. He had afterwards married his sister Arsinoe,
whom he loved with uncommon tenderness, and to whose memory he began
to erect a celebrated monument. _See:_ Dinocrates. During the whole
of his reign, Philadelphus was employed in exciting industry, and in
encouraging the liberal arts and useful knowledge among his subjects.
The inhabitants of the adjacent countries were allured by promises
and presents to increase the number of the Egyptian subjects, and
Ptolemy could boast of reigning over 33,339 well-peopled cities.
He gave every possible encouragement to commerce, and by keeping
two powerful fleets, one in the Mediterranean, and the other in the
Red sea, he made Egypt the mart of the world. His army consisted of
200,000 foot, 40,000 horse, besides 300 elephants and 2000 armed
chariots. With justice, therefore, he has been called the richest
of all the princes and monarchs of his age, and, indeed, the remark
is not false when it is observed, that at his death he left in his
treasury 750,000 Egyptian talents, a sum equivalent to two hundred
millions sterling. His palace was the asylum of learned men, whom
he admired and patronized. He paid particular attention to Euclid,
Theocritus, Callimachus, and Lycophron, and by increasing the library
which his father had founded, he showed his taste for learning, and
his wish to encourage genius. This celebrated library at his death
contained 200,000 volumes of the best and choicest books, and it
was afterwards increased to 700,000 volumes. Part of it was burnt by
the flames of Cæsar’s fleet when he set it on fire to save himself,
a circumstance, however, not mentioned by the general, and the whole
was again magnificently repaired by Cleopatra, who added to the
Egyptian library that of the kings of Pergamus. It is said that
the Old Testament was translated into Greek during his reign, a
translation which has been called Septuagint, because translated by
the labours of 70 different persons. _Eutropius._――_Justin_, bk. 17,
ch. 2, &c.――_Livy._――_Plutarch._――_Theocritus._――_Athenæus_, bk. 12.
――_Pliny_, bk. 13, ch. 12.――_Dio Cassius_, bk. 42.――_Aulus Gellius_,
bk. 6, ch. 17.
=Ptolemæus III.=, succeeded his father Philadelphus on the Egyptian
throne. He early engaged in a war against Antiochus Theus, for his
unkindness to Berenice, the Egyptian king’s sister, whom he had
married with the consent of Philadelphus. With the most rapid success
he conquered Syria and Cilicia, and advanced as far as the Tigris,
but a sedition at home stopped his progress, and he returned to
Egypt loaded with the spoils of conquered nations. Among the immense
riches which he brought, he had above 2500 statues of the Egyptian
gods, which Cambyses had carried away into Persia when he conquered
Egypt. These were restored to the temples, and the Egyptians called
their sovereign _Evergetes_, in acknowledgment of his attention,
beneficence, and religious zeal for the gods of his country. The
last years of Ptolemy’s reign were passed in peace, if we except the
refusal of the Jews to pay the tribute of 20 silver talents which
their ancestors had always paid to the Egyptian monarchs. He also
interested himself in the affairs of Greece, and assisted Cleomenes
the Spartan king against the leaders of the Achæan league; but he had
the mortification to see his ally defeated, and even a fugitive in
Egypt. Evergetes died 221 years before Christ, after a reign of 25
years, and, like his two illustrious predecessors, he was the patron
of learning, and, indeed, he is the last of the Lagides who gained
popularity among his subjects by clemency, moderation and humanity,
and who commanded respect even from his enemies, by valour, prudence,
and reputation. It is said that he deposited 15 talents in the
hands of the Athenians to be permitted to translate the original
manuscripts of Æschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles. _Plutarch_,
_Cleomenes_, &c.――_Polybius_, bk. 2.――_Justin_, bk. 29, &c.
=Ptolemæus IV.=, succeeded his father Evergetes on the throne of
Egypt, and received the surname of _Philopater_ by antiphrasis,
because, according to some historians, he destroyed his father by
poison. He began his reign with acts of the greatest cruelty, and
he successively sacrificed to his avarice his own mother, his wife,
his sister, and his brother. He received the name of _Tiphon_ from
his extravagance and debauchery, and that of _Gallus_, because he
appeared in the streets of Alexandria like one of the bacchanals,
and with all the gestures of the priests of Cybele. In the midst of
his pleasures, Philopater was called to war against Antiochus king
of Syria, and at the head of a powerful army he soon invaded his
enemies’ territories, and might have added the kingdom of Syria to
Egypt, if he had made a prudent use of the victories which attended
his arms. In his return he visited Jerusalem, but the Jews prevented
him forcibly from entering their temple, for which insolence to his
majesty the monarch determined to extirpate the whole nation. He
ordered an immense number of Jews to be exposed in a plain, and
trodden under the feet of elephants, but, by a supernatural instinct,
the generous animals turned their fury not on those that had been
devoted to death, but upon the Egyptian spectators. This circumstance
terrified Philopater, and he behaved with more than common kindness
to a nation which he had so lately devoted to destruction. In the
latter part of his reign, the Romans, whom a dangerous war with
Carthage had weakened, but at the same time roused to superior
activity, renewed, for political reasons, the treaty of alliance
which had been made with the Egyptian monarchs. Philopater at last,
weakened and enervated by intemperance and continual debauchery, died
in the 37th year of his age, after a reign of 17 years, 204 years
before the christian era. His death was immediately followed by the
murder of the companions of his voluptuousness and extravagance, and
their carcases were dragged with the greatest ignominy through the
streets of Alexandria. _Polybius._――_Justin_, bk. 30, &c.――_Plutarch_,
_Cleomenes_.
=Ptolemæus V.=, succeeded his father Philopater as king of Egypt,
though only in the fourth year of his age. During the years of his
minority he was under the protection of Sosibius and of Aristomenes,
by whose prudent administration Antiochus was dispossessed of the
provinces of Cœlosyria and Palestine, which he had conquered by
war. The Romans also renewed their alliance with him after their
victories over Annibal, and the conclusion of the second Punic war.
This flattering embassy induced Aristomenes to offer the care of
the patronage of the young monarch to the Romans, but the regent
was confirmed in his honourable office, and by making a treaty of
alliance with the people of Achaia, he convinced the Egyptians that
he was qualified to wield the sceptre and to govern the nation. But
now that Ptolemy had reached his 14th year, according to the laws and
customs of Egypt, the years of his minority had expired. He received
the surname of _Epiphanes_, or Illustrious, and was crowned at
Alexandria with the greatest solemnity, and the faithful Aristomenes
resigned into his hands an empire which he had governed with honour
to himself and with credit to his sovereign. Young Ptolemy was no
sooner delivered from the shackles of a superior, than he betrayed
the same vices which had characterized his father; the counsels of
Aristomenes were despised, and the minister who for 10 years had
governed the kingdom with equity and moderation, was sacrificed
to the caprice of the sovereign, who abhorred him for the salutary
advice which his own vicious inclinations did not permit him to
follow. His cruelties raised seditions among his subjects, but
these were twice quelled by the prudence and the moderation of one
Polycrates, the most faithful of his corrupt ministers. In the midst
of his extravagance, Epiphanes did not forget his alliance with
the Romans; above all others he showed himself eager to cultivate
friendship with a nation from whom he could derive so many advantages,
and during their war against Antiochus he offered to assist them with
money against a monarch whose daughter Cleopatra he had married, but
whom he hated on account of the seditions he raised in the very heart
of Egypt. After a reign of 24 years, 180 years before Christ, Ptolemy
was poisoned by his ministers, whom he had threatened to rob of their
possessions, to carry on a war against Seleucus king of Syria. _Livy_,
bk. 35, ch. 13, &c.――_Justin_, &c.
=Ptolemæus VI.=, succeeded his father Epiphanes on the Egyptian throne,
and received the surname of _Philometor_, on account of his hatred
against his mother Cleopatra. He was in the sixth year of his age
when he ascended the throne, and during his minority the kingdom was
governed by his mother, and at her death by a eunuch, who was one of
his favourites. He made war against Antiochus Epiphanes king of Syria,
to recover the provinces of Palestine and Cœlosyria, which were part
of the Egyptian dominions, and after several successes he fell into
the hands of his enemy, who detained him in confinement. During
the captivity of Philometor, the Egyptians raised to the throne his
younger brother Ptolemy Evergetes, or Physcon, also son of Epiphanes,
but he was no sooner established in his power than Antiochus
turned his arms against Egypt, drove the usurper ♦out, and restored
Philometor to all his rights and privileges as king of Egypt. This
artful behaviour of Antiochus was soon comprehended by Philometor,
and when he saw that Pelusium, the key of Egypt, had remained in
the hands of his Syrian ally, he recalled his brother Physcon,
and made him partner on the throne, and concerted with him how to
repel their common enemy. This union of interest in the two royal
brothers incensed Antiochus; he entered Egypt with a large army,
but the Romans checked his progress and obliged him to retire. No
sooner were they delivered from the impending war, than Philometor
and Physcon, whom the fear of danger had united, began with
mutual jealousy to oppose each other’s views. Physcon was at last
banished by the superior power of his brother, and as he could
find no support in Egypt, he immediately repaired to Rome. To
excite more effectually the compassion of the Romans, and to gain
their assistance, he appeared in the meanest dress, and took his
residence in the most obscure corner of the city. He received
an audience from the senate, and the Romans settled the dispute
between the two royal brothers, by making them independent of one
another, and giving the government of Libya and Cyrene to Physcon,
and confirming Philometor in the possession of Egypt, and the
island of Cyprus. These terms of accommodation were gladly accepted,
but Physcon soon claimed the dominion of Cyprus, and in this he
was supported by the Romans, who wished to aggrandize themselves by
the diminution of the Egyptian power. Philometor refused to deliver
up the island of Cyprus, and to call away his brother’s attention,
he fomented the seeds of rebellion in Cyrene. But the death of
Philometor, 145 years before the christian era, left Physcon master
of Egypt and all the dependent provinces. Philometor has been
commended by some historians for his clemency and moderation.
_Diodorus._――_Livy._――_Polybius._
♦ omitted word ‘out’ inserted
=Ptolemæus VII.=, surnamed Physcon, on account of the prominence of his
belly, ascended the throne of Egypt after the death of his brother
Philometer, and as he had reigned for some time conjointly with
him [_See:_ Ptolemæus VI.], his succession was approved, though the
wife and the son of the deceased monarch laid claim to the crown.
Cleopatra was supported in her claims by the Jews, and it was at last
agreed that Physcon should marry the queen, and that her son should
succeed on the throne at his death. The nuptials were accordingly
celebrated, but on that very day the tyrant murdered Cleopatra’s
son in her arms. He ordered himself to be called _Evergetes_,
but the Alexandrians refused to do it, and stigmatized him with
the appellation of _Kakergetes_, or evil-doer, a surname which
he deserved by his tyranny and oppression. A series of barbarity
rendered him odious, but as no one attempted to rid Egypt of her
tyranny, the Alexandrians abandoned their habitations, and fled from
a place which continually streamed with the blood of their massacred
fellow-citizens. If their migration proved fatal to the commerce
and prosperity of Alexandria, it was of the most essential service
to the countries where they retired; and the numbers of Egyptians
that sought a safer asylum in Greece and Asia, introduced among the
inhabitants of those countries the different professions that were
practised with success in the capital of Egypt. Physcon endeavoured
to repeople the city which his cruelty had laid desolate; but the
fear of sharing the fate of the former inhabitants, prevailed more
than the promise of riches, rights, and immunities. The king at last,
disgusted with Cleopatra, repudiated her, and married her daughter by
Philometor, called also Cleopatra. He still continued to exercise the
greatest cruelty upon his subjects, but the prudence and vigilance
of his ministers kept the people in tranquillity, till all Egypt
revolted when the king had basely murdered all the young men of
Alexandria. Without friends or support in Egypt he fled to Cyprus,
and Cleopatra the divorced queen ascended the throne. In his
banishment Physcon dreaded lest the Alexandrians should also place
the crown on the head of his son, by his sister Cleopatra, who was
then governor of Cyrene, and under these apprehensions he sent for
the young prince, called Memphitis, to Cyprus, and murdered him as
soon as he reached the shore. To make the barbarity more complete
he sent the limbs of Memphitis to Cleopatra, and they were received
as the queen was going to celebrate her birthday. Soon after this he
invaded Egypt with an army, and obtained a victory over the forces of
Cleopatra, who, being left without friends or assistance, fled to her
eldest daughter Cleopatra, who had married Demetrius king of Syria.
This decisive blow restored Physcon to his throne, where he continued
to reign for some time, hated by his subjects, and feared by his
enemies. He died at Alexandria in the 67th year of his age, after a
reign of 29 years, about 116 years before Christ. Some authors have
extolled Physcon for his fondness for literature; they have observed,
that from his extensive knowledge he was called the _philologist_,
and that he wrote a comment upon Homer, besides a history in 24 books,
admired for its elegance, and often quoted by succeeding authors
whose pen was employed on the same subject. _Diodorus._――_Justin_,
bk. 38, &c.――_Athenæus_, bk. 2.――_Porphyry._
=Ptolemæus VIII.=, surnamed _Lathyrus_, from an excrescence like a
pea on the nose, succeeded his father Physcon as king of Egypt. He
had no sooner ascended the throne, than his mother Cleopatra, who
reigned conjointly with him, expelled him to Cyprus, and placed the
crown on the head of his brother Ptolemy Alexander, her favourite
son. Lathyrus, banished from Egypt, became king of Cyprus; and soon
after he appeared at the head of a large army, to make war against
Alexander Jannæus king of Judæa, through whose assistance and
intrigue he had been expelled by Cleopatra. The Jewish monarch was
conquered, and 50,000 of his men were left on the field of battle.
Lathyrus, after he had exercised the greatest cruelty upon the Jews,
and made vain attempts to recover the kingdom of Egypt, retired to
Cyprus till the death of his brother Alexander restored him to his
native dominions. Some of the cities of Egypt refused to acknowledge
him as their sovereign; and Thebes, for its obstinacy, was closely
besieged for three successive years, and from a powerful and populous
city, it was reduced to ruins. In the latter part of his reign
Lathyrus was called upon to assist the Romans with a navy for the
conquest of Athens; but Lucullus, who had been sent to obtain the
wanted supply, though received with kingly honours, was dismissed
with evasive and unsatisfactory answers, and the monarch refused to
part with troops which he deemed necessary to preserve the peace of
his kingdom. Lathyrus died 81 years before the christian era, after a
reign of 36 years since the death of his father Physcon, 11 of which
he had passed with his mother Cleopatra on the Egyptian throne, 18 in
Cyprus, and seven after his mother’s death. He was succeeded by his
only daughter Cleopatra, whom Alexander the son of Ptolemy Alexander,
by means of the dictator Sylla, soon after married and murdered.
_Josephus_, _Jewish Antiquities_.――_Justin_, bk. 39.――_Plutarch_,
_Lucullus_.――_Appian_, _Mithridatic Wars_.
=Ptolemæus IX.= _See:_ Alexander Ptolemy I.
=Ptolemæus X.= _See:_ Alexander Ptolemy II.
=Ptolemæus XI.= _See:_ Alexander Ptolemy III.
=Ptolemæus XII.=, the illegitimate son of Lathyrus, ascended the throne
of Egypt at the death of Alexander III. He received the surname of
_Auletes_, because he played skilfully on the flute. His rise showed
great marks of prudence and circumspection; and as his predecessor
by his will had left the kingdom of Egypt to the Romans, Auletes
knew that he could not be firmly established on his throne without
the approbation of the Roman senate. He was successful in his
applications, and Cæsar, who was then consul, and in want of money,
established his succession, and granted him the alliance of the
Romans, after he had received the enormous sum of about 1,162,500_l._
sterling. But these measures rendered him unpopular at home, and when
he had suffered the Romans quietly to take possession of Cyprus, the
Egyptians revolted, and Auletes was obliged to fly from his kingdom,
and seek protection among the most powerful of his allies. His
complaints were heard at Rome, at first with indifference, and the
murder of 100 noblemen of Alexandria, whom the Egyptians had sent
to justify their proceedings before the Roman senate, rendered him
unpopular and suspected. Pompey, however, supported his cause, and
the senators decreed to re-establish Auletes on his throne; but as
they proceeded slowly in the execution of their plans, the monarch
retired from Rome to Ephesus, where he lay concealed for some time in
the temple of Diana. During his absence from Alexandria, his daughter
Berenice had made herself absolute, and established herself on the
throne by a marriage with Archelaus, a priest of Bellona’s temple
at Comana; but she was soon driven from Egypt, when Gabinius, at the
head of a Roman army, approached to replace Auletes on his throne.
Auletes was no sooner restored to power, than he ♦sacrificed to
his ambition his daughter Berenice, and behaved with the greatest
ingratitude and perfidy to Rabirius, a Roman who had supplied him
with money when expelled from his kingdom. Auletes died four years
after his restoration, about 51 years before the christian era. He
left two sons and two daughters; and by his will ordered the eldest
of his sons to marry the eldest of his sisters, and to ascend with
her the vacant throne. As these children were young, the dying
monarch recommended them to the protection and paternal care of the
Romans, and accordingly Pompey the Great was appointed by the senate
to be their patron and their guardian. Their reign was as turbulent
as that of their predecessors, and it is remarkable for no uncommon
events, only we may observe that the young queen was the Cleopatra
who soon after became so celebrated as being the mistress of Julius
Cæsar, the wife of Marcus Antony, and the last of the Egyptian
monarchs of the family of Lagus. _Cicero_, _For Rabirius_.――_Strabo_,
bk. 17.――_Dio Cassius_, bk. 39.――_Appian_, _Civil Wars_.
♦ ‘sacrified’ replaced with ‘sacrificed’
=Ptolemæus XIII.=, surnamed _Dionysius_ or _Bacchus_, ascended the
throne of Egypt conjointly with his sister Cleopatra, whom he had
married, according to the directions of his father Auletes. He was
under the care and protection of Pompey the Great [_See:_ Ptolemæus
XII.], but the wickedness and avarice of his ministers soon obliged
him to reign independent. He was then in the 13th year of his age,
when his guardian, after the fatal battle of Pharsalia, came to the
shores of Egypt, and claimed his protection. He refused to grant the
required assistance, and by the advice of his ministers he basely
murdered Pompey, after he had brought him to shore under the mask of
friendship and cordiality. To curry the favour of the conqueror of
Pharsalia, Ptolemy cut off the head of Pompey; but Cæsar turned with
indignation from such perfidy, and when he arrived at Alexandria,
he found the king of Egypt as faithless to his cause as to that of
his fallen enemy. Cæsar sat as judge to hear the various claims of
the brother and sister to the throne; and to satisfy the people, he
ordered the will of Auletes to be read, and confirmed Ptolemy and
Cleopatra in the possession of Egypt, and appointed the two younger
children masters of the island of Cyprus. This fair and candid
decision might have left no room for dissatisfaction, but Ptolemy was
governed by cruel and avaricious ministers, and therefore he refused
to acknowledge Cæsar as a judge or a mediator. The Roman enforced
his authority by arms, and three victories were obtained over the
Egyptian forces. Ptolemy, who had been for some time a prisoner in
the hands of Cæsar, now headed his armies; but a defeat was fatal,
and as he attempted to save his life by flight, he was drowned in the
Nile, about 46 years before Christ, and three years and eight months
after the death of Auletes. Cleopatra, at the death of her brother,
became sole mistress of Egypt; but as the Egyptians were no friends
to female government, Cæsar obliged her to marry her younger brother
Ptolemy, who was then in the 11th year of his age. _Appian_, _Civil
Wars_.――_Cæsar_, _Alexandrine War_.――_Strabo_, bk. 17.――_Josephus_,
_Antiquities_.――_Dio Cassius._――_Plutarch_, _Antonius_, &c.
――_Suetonius_ _Cæsar_.