E G Y 1> T. 



.i..u>rj. favourite of" the late king, and was not considered OK 



""V"*" innocent i>t' tin- despair and death of the queen. There- 



fore she niul her unworthy associate* fell victim* to the 



popular fury, and the young prince was proclaimed 



<t*ng' 



In the fonncr reign, the Romans had renewed their 

 friendship at the Egyptian court ; and the adherents of 

 young Ptolemy on ; .-n applied to Home for 



assistance and direi-tion. Thi wa^ the more necessary, 

 hecau<c the infancy of I'tou my required protection ; 

 and because Antiochus and Philip of M.iccdon had de- 

 termiiu'd, in the fccMe >tate of the Egyptian jjovern- 

 ment, to dismember that empire, and divide it umongit 

 themselves. The aid of the Human government was 

 given with readiness and effect. An (Ambassador was sent 

 Home to each of the confederated liostile kinjr-. and 

 M. I'.milius I.cpidus hastened to Alexandria to manage 

 the affairs of the Enyptian court. Having placed them 

 in state of proper direction, lie returned to Home, 

 and set the prudent Aristomeiies at the head of the 

 i.tian government. Finding the Egyptian army 

 _rani/.ed, as well as the court dissolved in dissipa- 

 tion, he resolved to inspire a new spirit into the sol- 

 diery; and for this purpose, he engaged in the service 

 of Egypt 6000 Grecian troops, under the command of 

 SJcopas, a general of .T.toha. 



The Macedonian king having been invaded and kept 

 in check by the Roman armies, had neither the means 

 nor the opportunity of annoying Egypt ; but Antiochus, 

 the king of Syria, seized upon Palestine, together with 

 the adjoining provinces, which had been conquered by 

 Ptolemy; and though he was driven back by the troops 

 of Scopa?, yet he recovered his former conquests. With 

 the apparent view of a permanent friendship with 

 '.'\ pt, he proposed to bestow his daughter, Cleopatra, 

 upon the young king, and to give, as her portion, 

 rhose provinces, which had been so long objects of con- 

 tention and war between him and the Egyptian king. 

 Rut nothing could be more remote from his intentions 

 than the serious fulfilment of this proposal ; for his nu- 

 merous successes had fed his ambition, and he seemed 

 to aim at universal monarchy. 



Upon a rejiort prevailing that 1'tolemy Epiphanes was 

 dead, Antiochus sailed with a fleet to invade the country ; 

 but the news was unfounded, and he directed his cmiree 

 to Cyprus. Here he was repulsed, and escaped with 

 l)ut a small remnant of his fleet. The Romans obser- 

 ving the views of Antiochus, and being desirous of ex- 

 tending their own dominion, attacked this sovereign 

 with consummate skill, and forced him to Mirrei.-lcr 

 not only his conquests in Europe, but to ab.indon all 

 that part of Asia Minor, which lay to the west of 

 Mount Taurus. After the Egyptian king had taken 

 the reins of government into his own hand, he received 

 the daughter of Antiochus in marriage ; for the .Syrian 

 king wishe.! U> strengthen his hands against the en- 

 croaching power of Koine in the East. But Ptolemy 

 was feeble at home, and inefficient abroad. He renew- 

 ed an alliance with the Acha-un league; but his whole 

 reign was a scries of disasters. The king was corrupt, 

 and the people were disaffected; the court was treacher- 

 ous, and his generals were insincere. Under Scopas 

 the Etolian, one cons-piracy was formed, and though it 

 as detected, another more formidable was contri\cd ; 

 and though it too was discovered and overcome, yet the 

 seeds of discontentment and revenge were so cherished 

 by the perfidy and violence of the king, that his ene- 

 mies increased, both in numbers and resolution, till he 

 was cut off by poison in tie 2yth year of his age. 



l'|>on the death of Ptolemy Epiphanes, Queen I ii ,>- Hi-iuiv 

 patr.i assumed the rescue v : for her sun. the heir to ihe S ""Y""^ 

 throne, w;is but six years of ane. Her linn and judi- Ptolemy VI. 

 cious conduct rendered the administration of public B.C. Ibl. 

 affairs quiet and succe-sl'id. I'lic di-pute* between 

 Syria and l-'ujpt, were either teni|>crate or wholly sus- 

 |H-nded ; for >,-leu< iiv who had succeeded his father, 

 w.i> the In-other of C !n<p,tra, who managed the affairs 

 of Egypt. Hut Seleucus died, and was succeeded by 

 his brother Antiochu*, who as-umcd the surname of 

 Epiphanes ; but his character was base and not illus- 

 trious, as the name would intimate. In the mean time 

 the queen regent of Ej*ypt died, and the young king 

 was called to the throne as In- entered upon the l.'.tli 

 year of his age. In this situation of public affairs, the 

 uncle of the young king marched an army into Egypt, 

 and pot possession of the frontier towns. 



The winter was spent in mutual preparations; but 

 Antiochus imadcd E.uypt in the spring, and became 

 master of the whole country, excepting the city of 

 Alexandria. Ptolemy himself was taken prisoner; and, 

 after a variety of changes, was nominally declared to 

 b the sovereign of Egypt. Finding that Egypt was 

 really under subjection to Antiochus, and that the young 

 king was only a prisoner of state ; the city of Alexan. 

 dria raised his younger brother Ptolemy to the throne, 

 whom they suruamed Euergetes the Second, to distin- 

 guish him from the captive king, who was Ptolemy Phi- 

 lometer. The conduct of Antiochus brought the two 

 Ptolemies to a mutual understanding ; and they united all 

 their resources to oppose their ambitious and unnatural 

 uncle. Still, however, he persisted in his scheme, and 

 they were in danger of being overwhelmed, when an 

 embassy from Home arrested the progress and designs 

 of Antiochus. The successes of the Roman arms, and 

 the growing fame of the nation, overawed the king of 

 Syria, and relieved the Egyptian government. But 

 the harmony of the two brothers did not long remain. 



Dividing the empire, Lybia and Cyrene were ceded 

 to Ptolemy Euergetes, and the rest was retained by Pto- 

 lemy Philometer. The former claimed also the island 

 of Cyprus; and when the claim could not be adjusted 

 between the brothers, the Homan senate favoured the 

 pretensions of Ptolemy Euergetes; still, however, Phi- 

 lometer resisted ; and, during the course of the struggle, 



Ills rival brother -<rvi>tikor> j>riinnpr. Ptolemy Philomi'- 



ter restored him to liberty, and gave him back his part of 

 the kingdom, together with an advantageous substitute 

 for the island of Cyprus. Thus the brothers were at 

 peace and friendship with one another ; but the reign 

 of Ptolemy Philometer was not suffered to remain in 

 tranquillity. On the death of the Syrian king, a suc- 

 ces.sioii of changes took place in the management of the 

 empire ; and Alexander Balas, a young adventurer, 

 usurped the throne of Syria. This sovereign obtained 

 the daughter of Ptolemy Philometer in marriage ; but 

 so unworthy was he of this alliance, or the throne to 

 which he was raised, that Ptolemy espoused the cause 

 of his competitor Demetrius Nicator, and gave him his 

 daughter, who was married to the unworthy Alexan- 

 der. In a short time, Ptolemy Philometer died at the 

 age of forty-one. 



I'pon the death of Ptolemy Philometer, his Queen Ptolemy 

 Cleopatra assumed the management of public allliirs, Vll. 

 that she might preserve the kingdom for her son, who B ' *" 

 was yet a child. But Ptolemy Eueryete.s II. presented 

 his claim to the throne which he had once occupied ; 

 and having many adherents, it was thought expedient 

 to compromise their pretensions. By the influence of 



