The Rise of the Roman Empire (Classics) by Polybius

The Rise of the Roman Empire (Classics) by Polybius

Author:Polybius
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9780141920504
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2003-08-27T16:00:00+00:00


BOOK V

Affairs in Egypt

THE DEATH OF CLEOMENES

The young Ptolemy Philopator took possession of the throne of Egypt early in 221 B.C. Seleucus, King of Syria, had died in 223, and Antigonus in the summer of 221; their successors, Antiochus and Philip, were nineteen and seventeen respectively. Cleomenes III, the King of Sparta, had taken refuge in Egypt after his decisive defeat by the Macedonians at the battle of Sellasia in the summer of 222 B.C. (see pp. 270–75).

34. As soon as his father Euergetes had died, Ptolemy IV, who was surnamed Philopator, had his brother Magas and those who supported him executed, and himself took possession of the throne of Egypt. He supposed that by destroying his rivals in this way he had through his own action rid himself of dangers at home, and that Fortune had delivered him from dangers abroad, for it so happened that Antigonus and Seleucus had just died, and their successors, Philip and Antiochus, were quite young, indeed almost boys. At any rate, these considerations made him feel secure in his situation, and he began to conduct his reign as if it were a perpetual festival. He neglected the business of state, made himself difficult to approach, hardly deigned to receive the members of his court or the officials responsible for internal affairs, and treated with contempt or indifference those who handled his country’s interests abroad, to which his predecessors had given more attention than to the administration even of Egypt itself. Because they ruled the territories of Coele Syria1 and of Cyprus the earlier Ptolemies had always been able to put pressure on the Kings of Syria both by sea and by land. Their sphere of control included the principal cities, fortresses and harbours all the way along the coast of the eastern Mediterranean from Pamphylia to the Hellespont and the region around Lysimacheia, which gave them a commanding influence over the islands and the smaller kingdoms of Asia Minor; while their occupation of Aenus, Maroneia and other cities even further afield enabled them to keep an effective watch upon the affairs of Thrace and Macedonia. Since they had extended their power to such remote regions and had long ago established such a far-flung system of client states to protect them, the Kings of Egypt had never felt anxiety concerning their rule at home, but had naturally attached great importance to the handling of foreign affairs. Philopator, however, neglected all these areas of his authority, and gave his whole attention to ignoble love affairs, and to senseless and continuous drinking. And so, as might have been expected, it was not long before conspiracies began to be formed, against both the King’s life and his throne. The first of these came from Cleomenes, the exiled King of Sparta.

35. Now so long as Ptolemy Euergetes was alive, Cleomenes had kept quiet: he had committed his fortunes and pledged his loyalty to the Egyptian King, and lived in the constant belief that he would be given the necessary help to recover his ancestral kingdom.



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