306 EGYPT. 
drums, by accufing him of the mod heinous and unnatu¬ 
ral crimes, in revenge for fome meafures he had entered 
into again.lt her will. Her malicious fictions obtained 
fuel] credit with the misjudging populace, that they rofe 
in a general tumult againit their fovereign, and would 
certainly have torn him in pieces if he had not fortunately 
embarked in a velfel, which carried him out of the reach 
of the impending danger. Cleopatra now fent for Alex¬ 
ander from Cyprus; and, having caufed him to be pro¬ 
claimed king of Egypt, obliged Lathurus to he content 
with the former territory of liis younger brother. Soon 
after this revolution, the inhabitants of Pvolemais were 
driven to the utnioft extremities by Alexander Jannaeus 
king of the Jews; in confequence of which they fent to 
Lathurus for afliftance. But the meflengers were fcarcely 
gone, when they recollected that the alliance of Ptolemy 
might prove as prejudicial to their interefts as the en¬ 
mity of Alexander ; for it was highly probable that 
Cleopatra would, upon their receiving the king of Cy¬ 
prus, march againft them with an irrefiftible body of 
forces. Upon this confideration they refolved to rely on 
their own exertions; and they took the earlieft oppor¬ 
tunity of acquainting Lathurus with their determination: 
but he, having increafed his army to the number of thirty 
thoufqnd men, and provided vefiels for their accommo¬ 
dation, failed to Phcenice, and encamped at a {'mall dif- 
tance from the city of Ptolemais. Finding the citizens 
obftinate in refilling to admit his mejlengers, or to enter 
into any conference, he was greatly perplexed, not know¬ 
ing what mode of conduCt to adopt. But while he was 
meditating on the Angularity of his fituation, melfengers 
arrived in his camp from the Gazaeans, and from Zoilus 
prince of Dora, defiring his afliftance ag'ainft the Jews, 
who were fo divided by Jannaeus, that one part of their 
army inverted Ptolemais, while the other ravaged the terri¬ 
tories of Zoilus and Gaza. Ptolemy embraced this oppor¬ 
tunity of employing his troops, and accordingly marched 
to the relief of thole who had importuned him. His fuc- 
cour was fo powerful and opportune, that Jannaeus deem¬ 
ed it advifable to raife the fiege of Ptolemais, and led 
s back his army to watch the motions of Lathurus. Con- 
fcious of his inability to vanquifh fo forq^dable an ene¬ 
my, lie affeCted to court his friendfhip, and promifed to 
give him four hundred talents of Silver, on condition that 
he would deliver Zoilus and his territories into bis hands. 
Lathurus accepted the propofal ; but, dilcovering the 
treachery of Alexander, who was treating privately with 
Cleopatra, he fuddenly renounced his intentions, and re- 
Solved to take the molt ample revenge on his pretended 
ally. With this view he divided his army into two bo¬ 
dies, one of which he commidioned to befiege Ptolemais, 
and the other he led in perfon againft Alexander. In the 
commencement of this expedition he fnbdned Afochis, a 
city of Galilee, and carried from thence ten thoufand pri¬ 
soners, with an immenSe treafure. He alfo inverted Sep- 
phoris, but was compelled to raife the Siege, upon intel¬ 
ligence that Jannaeus was advancing at the head of fifty 
thoufand men. The hoftile armies met at Afophos, near 
the river Jordan, and engaged with the utmofl: fury. 
Victory was for fome time doubtful, as eight thoufand 
of Alexander’s men, who carried brazen bucklers, per¬ 
formed prodigies of valour, and difputed every inch of 
ground with undaunted firmnefs: but the Jews were at 
length defeated, after having loft thirty thoufand men in 
the combat, exclufive of prifoners. A mod inhuman 
conduCt is attributed to Lathurus upon this occafion ; 
for, having taken up his quarters, after the engagement, 
in the neighbouring villages, he caufed ail the female 
and infant inhabitants to be murdered, and their muti¬ 
lated limbs to be put into boiling caldrons, as if he de¬ 
signed to make a reputl for his army. This refinement in 
cruelly was intended to ftrike terror into the Jews, by 
jreprefenting their enemies as cannibals. 
While Lathurus and his followers were employed in 
ravaging the country, Cleopatra, B. C. 103, received in¬ 
telligence of their motions, and refolved to put a ftop to 
their future progrefs. She therefore railed a powerful 
army, under the command of Chelcias and Ananias, two 
Jews; and, having fecretly embarked with her troops, 
fet fail for Phoenice, where flie landed, to the aftoniftu 
ment of Lathurus, who haftily railed the liege of Ptole¬ 
mais, and retired into Ccelo-Syria. Cleopatra fent one 
divifion of her army to attack the fugitive, and with the 
other fhe marched to Ptolemais, expecting to meet with 
an agreeable reception from the citizens : her expecta¬ 
tions were, however, fruftrated ; for they obftinately re. 
fufed to open their gates. She therefore refolved to ob¬ 
tain admiflion by force, and commanded the fortrefs to 
be inverted. Lathurus, in the mean time, contrived to 
elude the purfuit of his enemies, and inarched with all 
his forces into Egypt, which he expeCted to find ften- 
derty guarded in the abfence of his mother. But the 
troops which Cleopatra had left in that kingdom, de¬ 
fended their charge with the utmofl: valour, till a re. 
inforcement arrived from Phoenice. Lathurus was there¬ 
fore compelled to return to Palcfline, and lie took up 
his winter quarters at Gaza. The liege of Ptolemais 
in the mean time was carried on with inch vigour and 
refolution, that the inhabitants were obliged to fubmit 
to Cleopatra : when an alliance was formed between the 
queen and Alexander Jannaeus. The victorious army 
failed back into Egypt; and Lathurus, finding that all 
his attempts in Paleltine were lendered abortive, returned 
to his own territory of Cyprus. 
During tliefe tranfaCtions Ptolemy Alexander, the 
younger brother, fuifered all the reftraints of (Every un¬ 
der the fpecious appearance of fovereign authority ; but, 
at length, being wearied with the indignities he received 
from his ambitious mother, and difgufted at the unnatu¬ 
ral malice with which (he perfecuted Lathurus, he de¬ 
parted privately from Alexandria, choofing rather to live 
in obfeurity with fafety, than to lliare the throne with a 
woman of fo bale a difpofition. His flight embarrufled 
the queen, who was well appiifed that the Alexandrians 
would never permit her to reign without one of her Tons ; 
and (he, therefore, ufed all poflible artifices to allure him 
back to court. Not long after his return {he formed a 
cotifpiracy againft his life; but Alexander, dilcovering 
her treachery, prevented his own deftmCtion by turning 
it upon the life of the projector. She was certainly a 
vicious character, and might be thought to have deferved 
this tragical retribution of her actions, if it had come 
from any hand than that of her own (on. As foon as it 
was rumoured in the city, B. C. 89, that Ptolemy had 
caufed his mother to be aflfaflinated, the enormity of the 
crime ftirred. up all his fubjeCts againft him ; they infilled 
upon the impropriety of 1'ubmitting to the government 
of a parricide, and drove him ignomfnioufl'y from his do¬ 
minions, which they now conferred upon his brother La- 
tliurus. Alexander for fome time led a wandering life 
in the ifland of Cos ; but, having got together fome 
(hips, he, next year, attempted to return into Egypt. 
Being, however, fruftrated in thisdefign, he fled to Myra 
in Lycia ; and from thence (leered his courfe towards the 
iftand of Cyprus, where he hoped to obtain his brother’s 
vacant throne; but Chcereas, one of Lathurus’s admi¬ 
rals, obftrnCted his landing, difperfed his fleet, and killed 
him in the engagement, after he had borne the title of 
king for the fpace of nineteen years. He left a fon alfo 
named Alexander, of whom we (hall have occafion to 
(peak hereafter. 
Ptolemy Lathurus, being thus freed from two formid¬ 
able competitors, began to regulate the government, and 
to remedy thofe numerous abufes which had militated 
againft the felicity of the people ; yet his regulations 
were fo far from giving fatisfaClion, that the Thebans 
refufed to fubmit to them, and even attempted to (hake 
off their allegiance. The king immediately led an army 
againft 
