PALERMO STONE. The name given to fragments of a broken monument (or perhaps two similar monuments) of black basalt that recorded annals of the kings from the first to the fifth Dynasties. The largest fragment is in the Palermo Museum; with a further five fragments in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, and one in the Petrie Museum at University College, London. Unfortunately, the monument is too badly damaged to provide a complete source for this early period of Egyptian history. There are references to military actions in the reign of Sneferu and some in reigns of kings who cannot be identified.
PANEHESY (fl. c. 1089–1069 BC). Viceroy of Kush in the reign of Ramesses XI. He brought troops from Nubia to Thebes to suppress some major civil disturbances. The events are recorded in a series of papyrus letters and official documents, which, as is so typical of Egyptian material, do not reveal the whole picture. Consequently, there are varying interpretations of the evidence. The arrival of Panehesy and his troops followed the “suppression” of the high priest of Amun, Amenhotep. There was considerable looting, notably at Medinet Habu, and most of the villagers resident there fled to the west bank. Panehesy held a series of trials and executed people.
At a later stage, Panehesy led the army farther north into Middle Egypt and perhaps into the Delta, where there was possibly a battle. It was probably during his absence in the north that some of the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings were violated. Panehesy is often assumed to have been working on behalf of the pharaoh, at least initially. However, he returned to Kush, and a new power appeared in Thebes, the General Herihor, who also assumed the titles of high priest of Amun and viceroy. A series of letters records a military action against Panehesy by Herihor’s successor, Paiankh. The army of Paiankh certainly established itself in the fortress of Quban, although Panehesy is assumed to have held Aniba, as his tomb was built there, and his name is undamaged. It may have been during this campaign that Qasr Ibrim was fortified. The outcome of the conflict is unknown. The return of Paiankh and his army to Thebes is recorded in the last year of Ramesses XI, but neither he nor Panehesy are attested afterward. A recent reordering of the relevant documents by Karl Jansen-Winkeln places Paiankh before Herihor.
PANION (200 BC). Battle in the Fifth Syrian War between the armies of Ptolemy V and Antiochos III. The battle took place at Panion (later called Caesarea Philippi) at the northern end of the Golan Heights and the foot of Mount Hermon, on a level site (the Banyas plateau) selected by Antiochos III. The Seleukid forces included elephants. The Ptolemaic army, commanded by Skopas, had regained control of Coele Syria, which had been seized by Antiochos the previous year and then marched north from Jerusalem through Galilee. An account of the battle was written by Polybius (16.18–19) allowing some reconstruction of the course of the battle, which, because of the topography, took place in two arenas. The Seleukids were ultimately victorious and Skopas retreated with 10,000 survivors to Sidon.
PAPREMIS (459 BC). The site of a battle in which the forces of the Egyptian prince Inaros clashed with those of the Persian satrap, Achaimenes, who was killed. Herodotos claims to have visited the site of the battle. Papremis is the Greek form of an Egyptian place-name (perhaps Pa-pa-rem(wy)) in the Delta, It has been identified with Pelusion at the entrance to the eastern Delta, but also with a site to the east of Damanhur in the western Delta.
PARAITONION. Frontier town, the modern Mersa Matruh. In the Ptolemaic and Roman periods, Paraitonion (Latin, Paraetonium) marked the border between Egypt and Cyrenaica. In the late New Kingdom, it seems to have served a similar function because close to Mersa Matruh is the Ramesside fortress of Zawiyet Umm el-Rakham. The fort stands in a strategic position controlling the coastal routes. Mersa Matruh has a large natural harbor. Excavations on Bates’s Island in the harbor have found evidence of trading contacts between vessels from Cyprus and Crete and the local Libyans. These can be dated to the late 18th Dynasty. Although there is no direct evidence, the town might have become significant in the Late Period, when contacts between Egypt and Cyrenaica intensified. Alexander the Great is reputed to have met with ambassadors from Cyrene here, while on his way to the Oasis of Siwa. The desert roads for Siwa leave the coast at this point. Paraitonion was occupied by the forces of Magas of Cyrene during his rebellion against Ptolemy II. Along with Cyrene, it returned to Egyptian control, and at some unknown point was protected by a city wall. Following the battle of Aktion, Kleopatra VII and Antonius landed here, and it was here that Cornelius Gallus destroyed the remainder of their fleet. The town was again occupied by Vespasian. In early Byzantine times, Paraitonion became the capital of the Eparchy of Lower Libya and was refortified by the emperor Justinian (reigned 527–565 AD).
PATHYRIS. Greek name for Gebelein in Upper Egypt, from the Egyptian Per-Hathor. Following the rebellion of Haronnophris and Chaonnophris in the reign of Ptolemy V, a military camp was established at Pathyris. It was a subdivision of the hypaethron of Krokodilopolis. A substantial papyrus archive records the family of a Greek cavalry officer, Dryton, who served here from circa 152 BC. The end of Pathyris as an important center seems to be associated with the rebellion in Thebes suppressed by Ptolemy IX Soter II in his year 3 (88 BC). Pathyris and Apollonopolis Megale (Edfu) had remained loyal to the Ptolemies, but Pathyris was presumably captured by the rebels and then suppressed by Soter, after which it became subordinate to Hermonthis (Armant).
PEACE TREATY. Formal and legal documents of relations between states—actually between the rulers—are attested from the Late Bronze Age (New Kingdom) and probably began much earlier. The Amarna Letters refer to agreements made by the predecessors of Amenhotep III and Akhenaten with the kingdom of Mitanni and other territories of Syria and the Levant. Treaties made by the kings of the Hittites with various vassals survive, as do copies in both Akkadian and Egyptian hieroglyphic of the peace that followed the Egyptian–Hittite Wars of the reign of Ramesses II.
Many peace treaties (and other treaties) were formally ratified by diplomatic marriage. All forms of relationship in the Late Bronze Age (and probably into later times, as indicated by the Victory Stela of Piye) were regarded as lasting for only the lifetimes of the relevant parties: so the Amarna Letters seek to renew good relations on the death of Amenhotep III. The stela of Kamose records a letter from the Hyksos ruler of Avaris to the king of Kush, which asks why the new Kushite king had not written to him of his accession, and seeks to renew the relationship of the two countries. The stela of Piye ends with the oath of fealty sworn by Tefnakht in the temple of Neith in Sau in the presence of the chief lector priest and a general. This contains all of the elements of a written treaty and was equally binding in a similar way.
There are many examples of treaties between the kings of Assyria, notably Esarhaddon, and their vassals in western Asia. These contain threats of retribution and the invocation of numerous deities as guarantors. A formal treaty probably negotiated the transfer of power in Thebes from the Kushites to Psamtik I. This was sealed with the installation of the Princess Neitiqert as heiress to the most powerful priestly office in the city. Numerous peace treaties tried to resolve the territorial disputes of the diadochoi and of the Ptolemies and Seleukids. A treaty was agreed on Samos between the representatives of Meroe and the emperor Augustus, following the conflict on the southern border and the military actions of Cornelius Gallus and Petronius.
PEDUBAST CYCLE. A series of stories preserved in papyrus documents written in the demotic script. The surviving texts date from the Ptolemaic–Roman periods but were set in the late Libyan period (seventh century BC). The stories refer to real historical figures, but also include influences from Greek mythology and heroic literature. Although the historical context is the time of the Kushite pharaohs and the invasions by the armies of Assyria under Esarhaddon, there are anachronistic references to the Medes, Persia, and India betraying the later writing, or adaptation, of the cycle. The principal stories, in various degrees of preservation are: Inaros and the Griffon; The Contest for the benefice of Amun; The Contest for the breastplate of Inaros; Egyptians and Amazons; and Nanferkasokar and the Babylonians. The Greek influence is notable in episodes, such as the heroic single combat for the breastplate of Inaros, reflecting the contests in the Iliad.
PELESET. The Philistines. The Peleset appear as both enemies (with the Sea Peoples) and as mercenaries in the Egyptian army in the reign of Ramesses III. They are identified by their characteristic headdresses, which are perhaps made of horsehair. They were the people of the southwestern Asiatic coast, between Gaza and Joppa.
PELTAST. Light skirmishing infantry of the Ptolemaic army. The term was originally used of Thracians, deriving from pelta, a small, light shield. The peltast’s principal weapon was the javelin. The term is considerably less precise in the accounts of the Hellenistic period, and peltasts are often found included among the phalanx, indicating a different definition.
PELUSION (TELL EL FARAMA). Frontier fortress on the eastern border. Pelusion (Pelusium in Latin) was part of the chain of defenses that protected the access to Egypt along the Via Maris or Ways of Horus. It was once incorrectly identified with Avaris and Per-Ramesses, and its Egyptian name is unknown. It was the scene of battles when invading and Egyptian armies clashed. The well-documented invasions all belong to the later periods of Egyptian history. The armies of Assyria under Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal passed this route on several occasions. There was conflict here when the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar attempted to restore Wahibre. The army of Cambyses of Persia defeated that of Psamtik III at Pelusion in 525 BC, bringing Egypt into the Persian Empire. It was the site of further attempted Persian invasions by Artaxerxes II against Nakhtnebef in 373 BC, and by Artaxerxes III in 351/350 BC. Artaxerxes III’s second invasion in 343 BC was successful, and the defeat of Nakhthorheb brought Egypt briefly back into the Persian Empire. The garrison yielded to the Macedonian adventurer, Amyntas, in 333 BC and to Alexander the Great the following year. Here, Ptolemy I fended off the invasion of Antigonos I Monopthalmos in 306 BC, but that of Antiochos IV in 169 BC was successful. The Roman general Marcus Antonius seized Pelusion when he and the Gabinians restored Ptolemy XII (Auletes) in 55 BC. In 47 BC, it was captured by Mithridates of Pergamon and his army, marching to join Iulius Caesar at the time of the Alexandrian War and conflict between Ptolemy XIII and Kleopatra VII. Pelusion appears in the Antonine Itinerary on the route Pelusion–Magdolo (Migdol)–Sile (Tjaru). It has recently been the subject of archaeological survey and excavation.
PEPY II (reigned c. 2278–2184 BC). Pharaoh of the Sixth Dynasty, buried at Saqqara, near Memphis. The reliefs in his pyramid temple show him smiting a Libyan chief, but this is copied directly from the temple of Sahure at Abusir and cannot be considered “historical.” Other fragments of relief show the capture of cattle and refer to a raid against the people of the eastern border. Two kneeling limestone figures, probably from the temple, depict captives with their arms bound at the elbows behind their backs. The figures have no inscriptions and their ethnicity is not distinguished.
PETRONIUS, CAIUS (fl. 25–22 BC). Roman prefect of Egypt appointed by Augustus as successor to Aelius Gallus (Prefect 26–24 BC) when the latter was sent on an expedition to Arabia. Gallus took nearly half of the Roman force stationed in Egypt: about 8,000 of the 16,800 in the three legions and 5,500 auxiliary troops. An armed Meroite force attacked the region of Aswan shortly after Gallus’s departure. This might have been part of a local uprising against Roman rule in Lower Nubia. Statues of Augustus were pulled down and prisoners taken. The succeeding events are unclear, and the authority of the contemporary account of Strabo has been questioned. Strabo claims that Petronius led the Roman army into Nubia, reaching Napata. The king of Meroe, Teriteqas, seems to have led or sent military aid to the rebellion. Petronius apparently fortified Qasr Ibrim on his return northward, and this was held by the Romans until the events of 22 BC, when the Kandake (ruling queen) led the Meroite army northward. There seems to have been no conflict and a peace treaty was concluded at Samos the following year (21 BC).
PHALANX. The main infantry element of the Hellenistic army. It consisted of lines of soldiers with long pikes. The use of the long pike, the sarissa, was developed in Macedonia by Philip II and used with great effect by Alexander the Great. The phalanx continued to be the mainstay of his successors, notably the Ptolemies and Seleukids. Details of the equipment used by the phalanx are unclear, although it is thought that the long sarissa was favored: this could be six meters in length. The depth of the phalanx could be varied according to the numbers available and the nature of the site. The deeper the line, the more difficult it was to maneuver. At the battle of Raphia, Ptolemy IV had 45,000 infantry available and they were probably arranged in a phalanx 32 lines deep. The phalanx was generally placed at the center with the light infantry (such as peltasts) on the flanks and the cavalry on the wings.
PHILISTINES. See PELESET.
PIYE (reigned c. 736–712 BC). King of Kush, acknowledged as ruler of Thebes and Upper Egypt. He was probably the immediate successor of Kashta, who had established Kushite control over Upper Egypt. The great “Victory Stela” of black granite (Cairo JE 48862), dated to Piye’s year 21, was discovered in the temple of Amun at Gebel Barkal (Sudan) in 1862. Carrying a text of 159 lines, it recounts the conflict between Piye and the coalition of princes led by Tefnakht, the ruler of the Delta city of Sau, and the rebellion of Piye’s vassal, Nimlot of Khmunu (Hermopolis). The inscription is an important record of the political geography of Egypt in the late Libyan period, and of the conduct of the campaign, with many references to sieges and pitched battles. Piye was in Nubia when the news of Nimlot’s advance southward was brought to him. At first he ordered his army based in Thebes to respond, but when they failed to defeat the coalition Piye took a second army to Egypt. Although Piye advanced north through Egypt, capturing the great cities of Khmunu, Ninsu (Herakleopolis), Memphis, and other smaller centers and fortresses, he did not defeat Tefnakht in a pitched battle. Piye received the submission of the four pharaohs, Nimlot, Osorkon, Iuput, and Peftjauawybast, and of all of the other Libyan dynasts at Hut-hery-ib (Athribis). From there, he launched an attack against Tefnakht, who sued for peace. Tefnakht swore his oath of fealty in the temple in Sau in the presence of the chief lector priest and a general. There was presumably a written peace treaty also.
The date of the war with Tefnakht within Piye’s reign is uncertain. Most earlier Egyptologists assumed that the Victory Stela was set up on Piye’s return to Napata, and that the campaign took place in the king’s regnal years 19 and 20. A number of factors suggest that the campaign might have been earlier, perhaps in year 4. Another stela from Gebel Barkal indicates that Piye had been active in Egypt prior to the campaign of Tefnakht, and it is certain that the Kushites were acknowledged as rulers of Thebes and Upper Egypt and maintained garrisons there.
PLATOON. An army unit of fifty men, comprising five squads, under a commanding officer called “the greatest of fifty.”
PNUBS. Town in Kush, south of the Third Cataract. Pnubs is named in texts from the time of Piye and the 25th Dynasty on to the Meroitic period. It was once identified with the site of Tabo on the island of Argo, but might be the late name for the site of Kerma, which is close to Argo. Pnubs was the site of a battle between the army of Psamtik II and the Kushites in 593 BC.
POEM OF PENTAWERE. The name given to one of the accounts of the victory of Ramesses II at the battle of Qadesh. It survives in eight copies, inscribed on the walls of the pharaoh’s temples at Abydos, Karnak, Luxor, Abu Simbel, and the Ramesseum, and on papyri. “Poem of Pentawere” is, in fact, a misnomer: one version of the text (Papyrus Sallier III) was copied by a scribe named Pentawere in the reign of Merenptah. The “poem” is divided into three sections, the two outer ones in prose and, most scholars agree, the central one metrical.
POETICAL STELA OF THUTMOSE III. A granite stela from the temple of Amun at Karnak (Thebes) now in the Cairo Museum (34010). It is a record of the pharaoh’s victories and expansion of the empire and as such relates to the Annals of Thutmose III. The composition is not a historical narrative but sets the victories within a mythological context. The pharaoh’s deeds are explained as a revelation of the will of Amun-Re. The text divides into three parts, the central one being a metrical “poem” in which the hieroglyphic script has been cleverly used in a symmetrical composition.
POLICE. In Egyptian, the term for the police force is Madjoy, and it seems likely that these people of the Eastern Desert were originally used as a specialist force. By extension, the term was retained for people serving in this “police” force. The commander was called the “Chief of the Madjoy” and was a very powerful official. A valuable source of information is the tomb of Mahu at Amarna in Middle Egypt. Mahu served Akhenaten, and his tomb has scenes showing his duties in the city. His troops have a standard bearer and are dressed in the usual style of soldiers. One scene shows the provisioning of a small guard post, in which an Asiatic mercenary is shown. Mahu takes instructions from the vizier and is shown bringing prisoners to his house. The Madjoy were probably responsible for the internal security of important towns. In Ramesside papyrus documents, the chief of the Madjoy in Memphis was commanding soldiers who were used to bring stone for temple building in the city.
POMOERIUM. A road that allows rapid movement of troops around the walls. It is found in fortress architecture, notably at Buhen.
PORPHYRION (218 BC). Battle of the Fourth Syrian War between the forces of Ptolemy IV and Antiochos III. The battle was part of Antiochos’s attempt to regain Coele Syria. Failing to break through the Ptolemaic fortresses that guarded the Marsyas Valley, the army took the difficult and narrow coastal route. This was easy for the Ptolemaic forces to defend, but Tyre and Acre in their rear had defected to Antiochos, along with the Ptolemaic mercenary officer, Theodotos the Aetolian. The Ptolemaic force was near the Porphyrion pass (Ras Nebi Younes some 25 kilometers south of Beirut), with a second defense line at Platanos (Cap Sakhré) five kilometers farther on, and a Ptolemaic fortress at Sidon. The Roman historian, Polybius (45.1–46.5, 61.3–62.6) details the disposition of the troops, with archers and slingers on the steep northern slope, and troops prepared for hand-to-hand combat on the shallower western slope. The opposing fleets approached each other nearby. The Seleukid success was said to have resulted from Theodotos, who led a contingent up the mountainside and overcame a Ptolemaic troop, then descended enabling the other forces to break through the pass.
PREFECT. Chief officer, military and civil, of the Roman administration of Egypt. Unlike the other Roman provinces, which were governed by a senatorial legate, an official of equestrian rank ruled Egypt. This emphasized Egypt’s role as a personal possession of the emperor, not the Roman people. The prefect was responsible for the security of Egypt; hence the largest garrison was at the political center of the country, Alexandria, rather than its strategic center, Babylon. The first prefect, Caius Cornelius Gallus, a friend of Augustus, was appointed in August 30 BC. He suppressed a rebellion in Upper Egypt in 29 BC and then took the army into Lower Nubia, where Meroe seems to have been trying to gain advantage. Gallus’s successor as prefect, Aelius Gallus, was soon sent on an expedition to Arabia. The next prefect, Caius Petronius, was also involved in activities in Nubia after the Meroitic Kandake (queen), probably Amanirenas, established her army at Dakka. There was a Roman assault on Qasr Ibrim, where the Roman camp has been identified on a headland opposite. In the reign of Nero, Tiberius Iulius Alexander was responsible for suppression of conflict between the Greeks and Jews in Alexandria and later proclaimed the general Titus Flavius Vespasianus emperor. A later prefect, Iulius Aemilianus, was proclaimed emperor by the Alexandrian mob.
PRIMIS. The Latin name for the fortress of Qasr Ibrim in Lower Nubia.
PROSOPITIS. Greek form of the name of an island in the Delta where the prince Inaros, rebelling against the rule of Persia, along with the fleet sent to aid him by Athens, was besieged by the forces of the satrap. The siege lasted for 18 months (456–454 BC) before the fleet of 200 ships was captured and Inaros sent to Persia, where he was executed. Prosopitis lay between the Canopic and Sebennytic branches of the Nile.
PSAMTIK I (reigned 664–610 BC). Ruler of Sau (Sais) who later reunited the whole of Egypt and is recognized as the first pharaoh of the 26th Dynasty. Like his father, Nekau I, Psamtik was originally a vassal of Assyria, being installed by Ashurbanipal as ruler of the Delta town of Hut-hery-ib (Athribis) with the Assyrian name Nabushezzi-banni. On the death of his father, probably in battle with the Kushite pharaoh Tanwetamani, Psamtik ascended the throne in Sau. Following Tanwetamani’s flight after the invasion of Ashurbanipal, Psamtik became the acknowledged ruler of the whole of the northern part of Egypt. Succeeding events are unknown, but by his year 9, the Kushites were prepared to cede Thebes and Upper Egypt, which was finalized diplomatically and formalized when Psamtik’s young daughter was sent to Thebes to be adopted as the eventual successor to the religious office of God’s Wife of Amun.
There are some large gaps in the record for the remainder of this very long reign, but it is clear that Psamtik ultimately quashed the power of the Libyan dynasts of the Delta and reasserted that of the sole pharaoh. In year 11, he was fighting in the west against the Libyans, but it is unclear exactly how strong the Libyan threat was.
One of the most important aspects of the reign is Psamtik’s foreign policy and use of mercenaries. These were mainly from the cities of Ionian Greece and Caria. Psamtik also sought help from Gyges of Lydia, in western Anatolia. The “Babylonian Chronicle” (the annals of the kings of Babylon), refers to the allied Egyptian–Assyrian army in pursuit of the Babylonian king, Nabopolassar, on the Euphrates. Egypt seems to have chosen to bolster the rump-state of Assyria in opposition to the expanding power of Babylon. Having reunited Egypt and reimposed the authority of a single pharaoh, Psamtik I appears to have attempted to re-exert some control over western Asia. This support for Assyria, and expansion into Palestine, continued in the reign of his son and successor, Nekau II. See also KUSH.
PSAMTIK II (reigned 595–589 BC). Pharaoh of the 26th Dynasty. He continued the policies of his predecessor Nekau II. In year 3, Psamtik launched a campaign against Nubia, the most important event of the reign. It is mentioned in Herodotos (2.161), and recorded by a group of graffiti at Abu Simbel, as well as three official stelae from Tanis, Karnak, and Aswan. The Abu Simbel graffiti were carved by mercenaries and tell us that the army was divided into two parts; the Egyptian force was led by Amasis (Ahmose, not the later pharaoh) and the Greek mercenaries by Potasimto. Various individuals left their names and places of origin, which include Teos, Ialysos, and Kolophon. It is unknown whether the campaign was a response to any Kushite attempt to invade Egypt. The inscriptions state that there was a battle, at Pnubs, although whether the army went on to sack Napata is still a point of controversy. Psamtik also involved himself in the affairs of western Asia maintaining some sort of treaty alliance with Judah (now under Zedekiah, uncle of Jehoiakim, installed by Nebuchadnezzar). A text of year 4 of Psamtik records an expedition to Khor (Syria), but this does not appear to have been military.
PSAMTIK III (reigned 526–525 BC). Last pharaoh of the 26th Dynasty with a very brief reign of six months. As the reign extended over the Egyptian New Year, Psamtik was ascribed a full year and a part in the records. The reign was dominated by the invasion of Egypt by Cambyses, king of Persia. There was a battle at Pelusion, the Egyptian army having large contingents of soldiers from Ionian Greece and Caria. The Egyptians were defeated and withdrew to Memphis, which was captured. Herodotos recounts how Psamtik III’s life was spared, initially, but he was later put to death after the “discovery” of his role in a plot. Cambyses ignored this reign, backdating his own rule in Egypt to the death of Ahmose II.
PSAMTIK IV (fl. c. 486–470 BC). Psamtik was a ruler of the western Delta. He probably did not aspire to the Egyptian royal titles, although there are small monuments of various obscure rulers called Psamtik during the time of Persian rule. Psamtik might have led the rebellion that broke out at the end of the reign of Darius I and was suppressed by Xerxes (486/485 BC). Psamtik’s son, Inaros, led a major rebellion against Persian rule on the death of Xerxes.
PTOLEMY I SOTER (367/366 BC, satrap 323–305, pharaoh 305–282 BC). Macedonian general who served Alexander the Great. On Alexander’s death at Babylon in 323 BC, Ptolemy seized Egypt, acting first as satrap for Alexander IV and Philip Arrhidaios, then, following the precedent of the other diadochoi (the “Successors”), proclaiming himself king (and in Egyptian contexts, pharaoh) in 305 BC. Shortly after taking Egypt Ptolemy sent a military expedition to Cyrene, which became part of the rapidly expanding Ptolemaic Empire. In 321 BC, he repulsed the invasion of another of the diadochoi, Perdikkas. The major monument from the early years is the so-called “Satrap stela,” which refers to the conquest of Cyrene and to the reign of the last Egyptian opponent of the Persians, Khabbash. The stela also refers to Ptolemy’s victory in 312 BC at Gaza and his acquisition of kebenet-vessels. In 306 BC, Egypt faced an invasion from Antigonos I Monophthalmos (the One Eyed). The wars of the diadochoi and their changes of alliance, many sealed by diplomatic marriage, saw considerable gains of territory by Ptolemy. His army occupied Palestine and Coele Syria, which was to become a focus of the Syrian Wars between his successors and the Seleukids of Syria. Ptolemy brought cities along the coast of Ionia such as Miletos, Halikarnassos, and Knidos under Egyptian rule. His control of the Island League based on Delos, and of the island of Samos, made Egypt the principal sea power. Ptolemy was involved in mainland Greece, supporting Athens against Macedonia (events between 294–287 BC). Ptolemy was the only one of Alexander’s successors to die a natural death.
PTOLEMY II PHILADELPHOS (reigned 285–246 BC). The reign of Ptolemy II saw the consolidation of Ptolemaic overseas territories by war and diplomacy. Ptolemy’s policy in general seems to have been to stir up problems for Macedonia, acting as the champion of the Greek cities against its aspirations. In the First Syrian War of 276 BC, Egypt was defeated by Antiochos I. Shortly after, in 274 BC, Antiochus, contemplating the invasion of Egypt, formed an alliance with Magas of Cyrene, who married his daughter, Apama. Magas moved on Egypt, capturing Paraitonion, and nearly reached Alexandria. His advance was aided by a mutiny by Ptolemy’s Gauls. Magas was forced to retreat by a rebellion of the Libyans. The stela from Pithom (Tell el–Maskhuta) records an inspection of the town’s defenses in 274. Egypt suffered an invasion by the Arabs, and by 269 a protecting canal and wall had been constructed. The First Syrian War came to an end in 272, leaving Ptolemy in possession of Cilicia west of the Calycydnus; the eastern coast of Pamphylia with Phraselis, and perhaps Aspendes; and Lycia south of the Milyad. In Caria and Ionia, he controlled the cities of Caunus, Halikarnassos, Myndus, Knidos, and probably Miletos; in the Aegean, he held Samos, Thera and the Cyclades, Samothrace, and Itanos in Crete; in Coele Syria, he retained the Marsyas Valley. He acquired Aradus and Marathus, thereby making all of Phoenicia Egyptian. Egypt was again involved in mainland Greece between 267–261 BC, during the Chremonidean War. The Second Syrian War (259–253 BC) against Antiochos II brought setbacks, including the loss of Miletos and Samos. At the naval battle of Kos (probably in spring 255 BC), the Egyptian fleet commanded by Patroklos, was defeated by Antigonos II Gonatas, king of Macedon. About the same time, the fleet commanded by Chremonides was defeated by the Rhodians, at the naval battle of Ephesos. This ended Egypt’s command of the sea and protectorate over the Island League. The peace treaty concluded in 253 saw Miletos, Samos, Ephesos, Pamphylia, and Cilicia pass to the rule of the Seleukids.
Ptolemy II was also active on his southern frontier in Nubia. There are no records of military activities, but he certainly reopened extensive trading with Meroe, and there are reports of expeditions far up the Nile into southern Sudan.
PTOLEMY III EUERGETES I (reigned 246–221 BC). The diplomatic marriage of Ptolemy III with Berenike daughter of Magas of Cyrene renewed Egyptian control of the north African coast far into Libya. The Third Syrian War (246–241 BC) against Seleukos II dominated the reign. Ptolemy III marched from Antioch to Seleukeia on the Tigris. The generals of the eastern satrapies acknowledged him, and one inscription claims that he conquered Asia from Babylon to Bactria. An uprising in Egypt forced Ptolemy to return to Egypt (245 BC). He claimed that he took back booty and 2,500 statues of Egyptian gods, which had been taken by Cambyses. This could be propaganda to establish his support of the Egyptian people in response to the rebellion. In any case, the removal of statues to Persia is more likely to have been an action of Artaxerxes III than Cambyses. In 246 or 245 BC, the Egyptian fleet commanded by the king’s half-brother, Ptolemy Andromachos, was defeated by Antigonos II Gonatas of Macedon at the battle of Andros. In 241 BC, peace was established between the Seleukids and Egypt. The war ended with Egypt gaining significant towns in Syria and Asia Minor, although some were lost again.
In 229/228 BC, Ptolemy established a military alliance with the Aetolian League, of northern Greece. This was an anti-Macedonian move. In southern Greece, the rapid rise of Sparta under Kleomenes III dictated a change of Ptolemaic policy. Ptolemy III ceased subsidies to the Achaean League, which had become pro-Macedonian, and supported Kleomenes. Athens received assurances of Ptolemaic support. At first successful in his military actions, Kleomenes was later defeated by the Macedonian king Antigonos III and fled to Alexandria. The end of Ptolemy’s reign saw a renewed Seleukid threat to Coele Syria.
PTOLEMY IV PHILOPATOR (reigned 221–205 BC). The accession of Ptolemy IV, aged about 20, came shortly after that of the equally young Antiochos III in Syria (reigned 223/222–187 BC) and the 17-year old Philip V in Macedon (reigned 221–179 BC). At the beginning of the reign, there was an attempted coup in Alexandria. Kleomenes III, king of Sparta, an ally of Ptolemy III, had been defeated by Antigonos III of Macedon and had fled to Egypt. Ptolemy IV imprisoned Kleomenes, who managed to escape and started an uprising. This soon collapsed and Kleomenes committed suicide (220–219 BC).
The Fourth Syrian War began in 219 BC when Antiochos III attacked Coele Syria. Ptolemy enrolled native Egyptians in the army, which had been previously dominated by Greeks and Macedonians. The victory of this army at the battle of Raphia (217 BC) was to have dramatic repercussions in Egypt toward the end of the reign. Ptolemy IV was politically active in Greece and was instrumental in the peace treaty at Naupaktos. He later tried to mediate in the war between Philip V of Macedon and Rome.
The later years of the reign saw major opposition to Ptolemaic rule in Egypt itself. The “native revolt” began in the Delta, supposedly begun by the Egyptian military caste (machimoi). This was followed somewhat later by the rebellion of the Thebaid, where an Egyptian pharaoh, Haronnophris, was proclaimed king. Although he survived an assassination attempt during the Syrian War, Ptolemy was murdered in a palace coup involving the family of his mistress, whose brother, Agathokles, seized power. Ptolemy’s death was kept secret for several months and the queen, Arsinoe, was murdered to prevent her becoming regent for her infant son. There were riots in Alexandria, and eventually Agathokles and his relatives were killed.
PTOLEMY V EPIPHANES (reigned 204–180 BC). Ptolemy ascended the throne as a minor, with Upper Egypt in rebellion. Shortly afterward, Antiochos III and Philip V of Macedon moved to divide the Ptolemaic Empire between them, on an east-west line. This resulted in the Fifth Syrian War (202–195 BC). The war ended with a peace treaty sealed with the diplomatic marriage (winter 194/193 BC) at Raphia, of Ptolemy to Antiochos’s daughter, Kleopatra I. Coele Syria was her dowry, but remained in the hands of Antiochos. After the death of Antiochos III in 187 BC, Ptolemy V began plans to regain Coele Syria. In 185, the eunuch Aristonikos was recruiting soldiers in Greece. In 183/182, Aristonikos led a naval expedition to Syria. In 180 BC, Ptolemy was poisoned by his generals.
PTOLEMY VI PHILOMETOR (reigned 180–164, 163–145 BC). Ptolemy VI Philometor began his reign as a minor, associated with his sister-wife, Kleopatra II. The Sixth Syrian War began in 170 BC. The regents sent an embassy to Rome seeking support for Egypt’s claim to Coele Syria. In 169 BC, Ptolemy VI’s uncle, the Seleukid king, Antiochos IV, invaded Egypt through Pelusion and quickly gained control of much of Lower Egypt. Ptolemy VI went to make an agreement directly with his uncle, but the Alexandrians immediately proclaimed his younger brother, Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II, as king alongside Kleopatra II. When Antiochos IV returned to Syria in autumn 169, Ptolemy VI returned to Alexandria and all three siblings were proclaimed as corulers. In response, Antiochos IV invaded Egypt again in spring 168 BC, taking Memphis and much of Lower Egypt and sending a successful expedition to capture Cyprus. He seems to have attempted to establish a Seleukid protectorate in the name of Ptolemy VI. Antiochos marched on Alexandria, but Rome intervened. Caius Popilius Laenas forced Antiochos IV to leave Egypt, and Cyprus was returned.
In about 165 BC, the rebellion of Dionysios Petosarapis spread from Alexandria to the countryside and was followed by an uprising in the Thebaid. Regaining control of the Thebaid was relatively easy, although it took a long siege to capture Panopolis (Akhmim). The later years of the reign were marked by dynastic disputes between the brothers. Philometor was forced to leave Egypt in 164 BC, but was restored in 163 BC, when Euergetes II went to Cyrene. The aid of Rome was now sought regularly in both internal and external affairs. Following the rebellion of the Jews against Antiochos IV, the Jewish high priest Onias settled in Egypt with a large following. Onias, and later his sons, Chelkias and Ananias, served as generals in the Ptolemaic army.
Toward the end of his reign, Philometor again became involved in events in Syria. The Seleukid family was engaged in dynastic wars compounded by the successes of a usurper named Alexander Balas. Philometor lent his support (sealed by marriage to his daughter Kleopatra Thea) to Alexander Balas, but used this as an excuse to reclaim Coele Syria. The Egyptian army and navy arrived in Syria in 147 BC, and Philometor installed garrisons. Following an assassination attempt, Philometor changed his support to Balas’s rival, a Seleukid prince, Demetrios II. The coastal cities as far as Seleukeia in Pieria now went over to Philometor, and the new alliance was sealed by the marriage of Demetrios II and Kleopatra Thea, who left Balas. Although Philometor aspired to the Seleukid crown himself, he did not wish to antagonize Rome, so he yielded it to Demetrios, keeping only Coele Syria (145 BC). Alexander Balas now attempted to regain Syria but was defeated by Philometor and Demetrios at the river Oinoparas, near Antioch, fled, and was killed. Philometor himself was fatally injured in the battle, dying a few days later. As a result, Coele Syria remained in Seleukid hands.
PTOLEMY VIII EUERGETES II (reigned 169–163, 145–116 BC). From 169 BC, Euergetes II was coruler with his brother Ptolemy VI Philometor and his sister, Kleopatra II. He reigned for a year after Philometor was ousted, but himself went to Cyrene when Philometor was restored. Following Philometor’s death (145 BC), Euergetes II returned to Egypt, marrying his widowed sister, Kleopatra II. He soon murdered her son and married her daughter, Kleopatra III. The troops were recalled from the last three Ptolemaic bases in the Aegean, Itanos, Thera, and Methana, reducing Ptolemaic influence to Egypt and the Dodekaschoinos, Cyrenaica, and Cyprus. The following decades were marred by dynastic wars. Kleopatra II began a rebellion in 132 BC and was recognized in Thebes. The populace of Alexandria was divided in its support and there were military actions throughout the country. Toward the end of the trouble, a rebel king, Harsiesis, seized power in Thebes. As cleruchs were called up to serve, land fell out of cultivation, resulting in agricultural problems, particularly in the Fayum. The war came to an end in 124 BC and a form of reconciliation was agreed with amnesties (philanthropa) proclaimed in the names of all three rulers.
PTOLEMY IX SOTER II (reigned 116–107, 88–80 BC). Following the death of Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II, his widow, Kleopatra III, chose their elder son, Soter II, to rule with her. She forced him out of Egypt in 107 BC. He went first to Cyrene, but was ejected from there and fled to Cyprus, where he ruled from 106/105 BC. In 103 BC, his aid was sought by the Palestinian city of Ptolemais, which was being besieged by the forces of the Jewish High Priest, Alexander Jannaeus. This was the beginning of the Syrian War (103–101 BC), partly a territorial and partly a dynastic war. Soter II returned to Cyprus where he continued to rule until he was recalled to Egypt in 88 BC. He reigned there until his death in 80 BC. There was, during this period, a major rebellion in Thebes.
PTOLEMY X ALEXANDER I (reigned 107–88 BC). Following the expulsion of Ptolemy IX Soter II, Kleopatra III recalled her younger son Alexander I from Cyprus and associated him with her as king. He played a leading role in the Syrian War of 103–101 BC, commanding the fleet. He fled Egypt following a joint rebellion by parts of the army and the Greek population of Alexandria incensed by his pro-Jewish attitude. He tried to re-enter Egypt with a Syrian army, but again fled, to Lycia. He was killed in a sea battle off the coast of Cyprus.
PTOLEMY XI ALEXANDER II (reigned 80 BC). With the death of Ptolemy IX Soter II, his daughter Kleopatra Berenike III became queen, but after a few months the Greek population of Alexandria demanded that she seek a coregent. The Roman dictator, Lucius Cornelius Sulla, insisted that Ptolemy XI Alexander II, the son of Ptolemy X Alexander I, be installed as coruler with his cousin (and step-mother), who now became his wife. After 19 days, Alexander had Kleopatra Berenike murdered. The enraged Alexandrians dragged him from the palace to the gymnasium, where he was torn to pieces. It was later claimed that he had bequeathed Egypt and Cyprus to the Roman Republic.
PTOLEMY XII NEOS DIONYSOS (reigned 80–58, 55–51 BC). Commonly called “Auletes” (“flute-player”), he was a son of Ptolemy IX Soter II. Auletes generally followed a pro-Roman policy. In 58 BC, Rome attacked Cyprus, and Auletes made no move either to defend it or send aid to his brother who was ruling there. As a result, his brother committed suicide and Cyprus was lost. The Alexandrians were enraged and forced Auletes to flee. He went to Rome for support. Eventually, Auletes was restored by the governor of Syria, Aulus Gabinius, who entered Egypt with a large military force, the cavalry, commanded by Marcus Antonius. Gabinius left a unit of Roman legionaries (the Gabinians) in Alexandria to support Auletes.
PTOLEMY XIII (reigned 51–47 BC). Son of Ptolemy XII Auletes and brother of Kleopatra VII. The will of Ptolemy XII named Rome as the guarantor of a joint rule by his chosen children, but soon after his accession, the 12-year old Ptolemy XIII was ousted by his sister, who reigned alone for 18 months. In autumn 50 BC, Ptolemy was reinstated alongside Kleopatra. However, the events of the Roman Civil War soon involved Egypt. In 49 BC, the son of the Roman general Pompey landed in Egypt seeking assistance for his father who had retreated to the east to build up his forces for the war with Iulius Caesar. The Alexandrian court was under obligation to Pompey as Ptolemy XII had established a political friendship with him. He was therefore supplied with 500 cavalry from the Gabinians and 50 warships. Shortly after, Ptolemy forced his sister to flee Alexandria (first to the Thebaid, then to Syria) and enjoyed a period of sole rule. In defiance of Ptolemy XII’s will, Pompey and the Roman senate in the east recognized Ptolemy XIII as sole legitimate king.
Caesar and his army pursued Pompey, defeating him at Pharsalos in northern Greece (48 BC). Pompey, with 2,000 soldiers, fled to Egypt for aid. He arrived near Pelusion, where Ptolemy XIII and his army had advanced to prevent Kleopatra’s attempt to regain her throne. Pompey sent envoys to the king, but was executed on the orders of Ptolemy, who wished to gain favor with the victorious Caesar, who had followed in pursuit. However, Caesar chose to support Kleopatra’s claims to joint rule. Caesar also named their younger brother, Ptolemy XIV, and sister, Arsinoe, as joint rulers of Cyprus, although they did not leave Alexandria. Cyprus remained a Ptolemaic possession until after the battle of Aktion.
Caesar ensured that Kleopatra was reinstated, but Ptolemy was popular in Alexandria, and when his courtiers recalled the army from Pelusion and stirred up anti-Roman feeling in the city, a nationalist movement soon developed. The result was the Alexandrian War. During this, Arsinoe joined Ptolemy XIII with the Egyptian army and was acclaimed queen. Mithridates of Pergamon, leading an army to relieve Caesar, advanced along the coast from Gaza toward Pelusion. It included cavalry from the Nabataean kingdom of Petra and 3,000 Jewish soldiers. Pelusion was captured. Caesar and his army joined with the new force and Ptolemy XIII was killed in the subsequent battle. Kleopatra was reinstated as queen, with Ptolemy XIV as coruler. Arsinoe was displayed in Caesar’s Roman triumph, then held in captivity in Ephesos until her murder by Marcus Antonius, at Kleopatra’s request.
PUNT. A country of east Africa, situated on the west coast of the Red Sea. The Egyptians sent expeditions to Punt from the Old Kingdom to the end of the New Kingdom, and although the general geographical location was doubtless the same, its political nature must have changed. Earlier scholarship identified Punt with the Horn of Africa, but it is now believed to lie farther north somewhere in eastern Sudan and northeast Ethiopia. Excavations in this region, in the Gash Delta, have identified archaeological remains that might possibly equate with the Punt of the Late Bronze Age (New Kingdom). Egypt’s relationship with Punt was based on trade, principally in incense and other precious commodities. Expeditions sailed along the coast of the Red Sea and then traveled some way inland. The most detailed information comes from the temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari (Thebes), which has fine relief sculptures of her expedition. In this contingents of the army are shown. Punt continues to be referred to after the New Kingdom, but in ideological or mythological, rather than historical, contexts. The kingdom of Meroe controlled the east African trade in the later first millennium BC, and Aksum came to dominate much of the same geographical area as Punt in the first centuries AD.