All Topics  
Ptolemy III Euergetes

 
Ptolemy III Euergetes

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Ptolemy III Euergetes
 
 
  Topics Ptolemy III Euergetes Topic Home

Ptolemy III Euergetes, (Ptolemaios Euergétes, reigned 246 BCE–222 BCE) was the third ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty
Ptolemaic dynasty

The Ptolemaic dynasty was a Hellenistic Macedonian royal family which ruled the Ptolemaic Empire in Egypt for nearly 300 years, from 305 BC to 30 BC....
 in Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
. He was the eldest son of Ptolemy II Philadelphus
Ptolemy II Philadelphus

Ptolemy II Philadelphus , was the king of Ptolemaic Egypt from 283 BC to 246 BC. He was the son of the founder of the Ptolemaic kingdom Ptolemy I Soter and Berenice I of Egypt, and was educated by Philitas of Cos....
 and his first wife, Arsinoe I, and came to power in 246 BCE upon the death of his father. Ptolemy III was also the ruler who promoted the translation of Jewish scriptures into Greek as the Septuagint
Septuagint

The Septuagint , or simply "LXX", is the Koine Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, translated in stages between the 3rd century BC and 1st century BC in Alexandria....
. He married Berenice of Cyrene in the year corresponding to 244/243 BCE; and their children were Arsinoe III, Ptolemy IV Philopator
Ptolemy IV Philopator

Ptolemy IV Philopator , son of Ptolemy III of Egypt and Berenice II of Egypt was the fourth Pharaoh of the Ptolemaic Egypt. Under the reign of Ptolemy IV, the decline of the Ptolemaic dynasty began....
, Magas, and a daughter also named Berenice.

Ptolemy III Euergetes was responsible for the first known example of a series of decrees published as bilingual inscriptions on massive stone blocks in three writing system
Writing system

A writing system is a type of symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in language....
s.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Ptolemy III Euergetes'
Start a new discussion about 'Ptolemy III Euergetes'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


Ptolemy III Euergetes, (Ptolemaios Euergétes, reigned 246 BCE–222 BCE) was the third ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty
Ptolemaic dynasty

The Ptolemaic dynasty was a Hellenistic Macedonian royal family which ruled the Ptolemaic Empire in Egypt for nearly 300 years, from 305 BC to 30 BC....
 in Egypt
Egypt

Egypt is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia. Covering an area of about , Egypt borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west....
. He was the eldest son of Ptolemy II Philadelphus
Ptolemy II Philadelphus

Ptolemy II Philadelphus , was the king of Ptolemaic Egypt from 283 BC to 246 BC. He was the son of the founder of the Ptolemaic kingdom Ptolemy I Soter and Berenice I of Egypt, and was educated by Philitas of Cos....
 and his first wife, Arsinoe I, and came to power in 246 BCE upon the death of his father. Ptolemy III was also the ruler who promoted the translation of Jewish scriptures into Greek as the Septuagint
Septuagint

The Septuagint , or simply "LXX", is the Koine Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, translated in stages between the 3rd century BC and 1st century BC in Alexandria....
. He married Berenice of Cyrene in the year corresponding to 244/243 BCE; and their children were Arsinoe III, Ptolemy IV Philopator
Ptolemy IV Philopator

Ptolemy IV Philopator , son of Ptolemy III of Egypt and Berenice II of Egypt was the fourth Pharaoh of the Ptolemaic Egypt. Under the reign of Ptolemy IV, the decline of the Ptolemaic dynasty began....
, Magas, and a daughter also named Berenice.

Ptolemy III Euergetes was responsible for the first known example of a series of decrees published as bilingual inscriptions on massive stone blocks in three writing system
Writing system

A writing system is a type of symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in language....
s. Ptolemy III's stone stela is the Canopus Stone
Decree of Canopus

The Decree of Canopus is the trilingual inscription, written in three writing systems–Egyptian hieroglyphs, Demotic , and Greek language, on an ancient Egyptian memorial stone stele, the Stone of Canopus, a decree by the Egyptian priests honoring Pharaoh Ptolemy III Euergetes, Queen Berenice, wife of Ptolemy III, and Princess Berenice ....
 of 238 BCE. Other well-known examples are the Memphis Stele (Memphis Stone), bearing the Decree of Memphis, about 218 BCE, passed by his son, Ptolemy IV, and the famous Rosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone

The Rosetta Stone is an Ancient Egyptian Artifact which was instrumental in advancing modern understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphsic writing....
 erected by Ptolemy Epiphanes
Ptolemy V Epiphanes

Ptolemy V Epiphanes , son of Ptolemy IV of Egypt and Arsinoe III of Egypt, was the 5th ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty. He became ruler at the age of five, and under a series of regents the kingdom was paralyzed....
 his grandson, in 196 BCE.

Ptolemy III's stone contains decrees about priestly orders, and is a memorial for his daughter Berenice. But two of its 26 lines of hieroglyph
Egyptian hieroglyphs

Egyptian hieroglyphs was a formal writing system used by the ancient Egyptians that contained a combination of logographic and alphabetic elements....
s decree the use of a leap day added to the Egyptian calendar
Egyptian calendar

The ancient civil Egyptian calendar had a year that was 365 days long and was divided into 12 months of 30 days each, plus 5 extra days at the end of the year....
 of 365 days, and the associated changes in festivals.

He is also credited with the foundation of the Serapeum
Serapeum

A Serapeum is a temple or other religious institution dedicated to the syncretism Hellenistic civilization-Ancient Egypt god Serapis, who combined aspects of Osiris and Apis in a humanized form that was palatable to the Ptolemaic dynasty of Alexandria....
 in Alexandria
Alexandria

Alexandria , with a population of 4.1 million, is the second-largest city in Egypt, and is the country's largest seaport, serving about 80% of Egypt's imports and exports....
.

War with Seleucids

Due to a falling out at the Seleucid court his eldest sister Berenice Phernophorus
Berenice (Seleucid queen)

Berenice, also called Berenice Syra, was the daughter of Ptolemy II Philadelphus and his first wife Arsinoe I of Egypt.In 261 BC she married the Seleucid dynasty monarch Antiochus II Theos, who, following an agreement with Ptolemy , had divorced his wife Laodice I and transferred the succession to Berenice's children....
 was murdered along with her infant son. In response he invaded Syria. During this war, the Third Syrian War
Syrian Wars

The Syrian Wars were a series of six wars between the Seleucid Empire and the Ptolemaic Egypt during the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC over the region of Coele-Syria, one of the few avenues into Egypt....
, he occupied Antioch
Antioch

Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the nearer East and was a cradle of gentile hi...
 and even reached Babylon
Babylon

Babylon was a city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, sometimes considered an empire, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad....
.

This war is cryptically alluded to in Daniel XI 7-9.

See also

  • History of Ptolemaic Egypt-
  • Ptolemais
    Ptolemais

    Ptolemais is the ancient name for the cities of:*Ptolemaida - named for the Macedonian Ptolemy who became Ptolemy I Soter*Acre, Israel - named for the Macedonian Ptolemy who became Ptolemy I Soter...
     - towns and cities named after members of the Ptolemaic dynasty.
  • Leap year
    Leap year

    A leap year is a year containing one or more extra days in order to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical year or seasonal year....
  • Decree of Canopus
    Decree of Canopus

    The Decree of Canopus is the trilingual inscription, written in three writing systems–Egyptian hieroglyphs, Demotic , and Greek language, on an ancient Egyptian memorial stone stele, the Stone of Canopus, a decree by the Egyptian priests honoring Pharaoh Ptolemy III Euergetes, Queen Berenice, wife of Ptolemy III, and Princess Berenice ....


External links

  • — (Chapter VI of E. R Bevan's House of Ptolemy, 1923)
  • — (Royal Egyptian Genealogy)
  • entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith