A History of the Ptolemaic Empire

409 Pages·2000·7.846 MB·English

by  Günther Hölbl

A History of the Ptolemaic Empire
This edition is sponsored by the Austrian Bundesministerium fUr Wissenschaft
und Verkehr, the City of Vienna, Municipal Department 18, Science Group,
and the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.
A History of the
Ptolemaic Empire
Gunther Halhl
translated by Tina Saavedra
i
~ ~~o~!~;n~~~up
LONDON AND NEW YORK
First published 2001
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York NY 10016
Reprinted 2001
Transferred to Digital Printing 2010
&utledge is an imprint of the T qylor & Francis Group, an injorma business
Geschichte des Ptolemaerriches © 1994 by Wissenchaftliche
Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt
This translation © 2001 Routledge Ltd
Typeset in Garamond by Graphicraft Limited, Hong Kong
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted
or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library
Library o/Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Halbl, GUnther.
(Geschichte des Ptolemaerreiches. English}
History of the Ptolemaic empire / GUnther Halbl.
p. cm.
Translation of: Geschichte des Ptolemaerreiches.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-415-20145-4
1. Egypt-History-332-30 B.C. 2. Ptolemaic dynasty,
305-30 B.C. I. Title.
DT92.H6513 2000
932'.021-dc21 00-020437
ISBN 10: 0-415-20145-4 (cased)
ISBN 10: 0-415-23489-1 (limp)
ISBN 13: 978-0-415-20145-2 (cased)
ISBN 13: 978-0-415-23489-4 (limp)
Publisher's Note
The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of
this reprint but points out that some imperfections in the
original may be apparent.
To Gen. Dir. Dr Wilfried Seipel,
Promoter of Research
Contents
List of illustrations X
Foreword
X11
Preface XIV
Acknowledgements xv
List of abbreviations and references XVI
Introduction 1
PART I
The beginning and the golden age of Ptolemaic rule 7
1 Alexander the Great and Ptolemy I Soter (332-282) 9
Alexander and Egypt (332-323) 9
Ptolemy the satrap (323-306) 14
The rule of Ptolemy I Soter as king (306/4-283/2) 20
2 The empire under the second and third Ptolemies
(282-222) 35
Political development under Ptolemy II Philadelphos (282-246) 35
Politics and imperial history under Ptolemy III Euergetes I
(236-222) 46
Ptolemaic activities outside the eastern Mediterranean 54
Situation within the empire 58
Main elements of the policies of the second and third Ptolemies 66
3 Royal ideology and religious policy from Alexander the
Great to Ptolemy III 77
The pharaoh - Egyptian priests and temples 77
Basileus, Hellenistic ruler cult and the Greek gods 90
The search for values to bind together the peoples of the kingdom 98
Vll1 Contents
PART II
Change and decline of the Hellenistic state of the
Ptolomies 125
4 Foreign policy and dynastic history from Ptolemy IV to
the 'Day of Eleusis' (221-168) 127
Ptolemy IV Philopator (221-204) and the Fourth Syrian War
(219-217) 127
Ptolemy V Epiphanes (204 -180) and the loss of the eastern
Mediterranean empire 134
The first years of Ptolemy VI Philometor and the
Sixth Syrian War (180-168) 143
5 Domestic resistance and the Pharaonic state in Thebes
(206-186) 153
6 The sacred kingship from Ptolemy IV until the early
years of Ptolemy VI 160
Egyptian building at the time of Philopator and Epiphanes 160
Priestly decrees and worship of the Ptolemies in the Egyptian
community 162
Greek cults of the Ptolemies and dynastic gods 169
PART III
The Ptolemic kingdom under the shadow of
Roman power 179
7 History of the kingdom and dynasty from the
withdrawal of Antiochos IV to the interlude of
Ptolemy XI (168-80) 181
Ptolemy VI Philometor (until 145) 181
Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II and his two queens Cleopatra II
and III (145-116) 194
Dynastic power struggles at the turn of the century: Ptolemy IX,
X and XI (116-80) 204
8 The final period: Egypt in the political designs of
Roman leaders (80-30) 222
Ptolemy XII neos Dionysos (80-51) 222
Cleopatra VII Philopator (51-30) 231
Contents IX
9 Religious culture and divine kingship from Ptolemy VI
to Cleopatra VII 257
The pharaoh and the Egyptian sanctuaries 257
The Hellenistic king and the offices of the eponymous priests from
Ptolemy VI to the last years of Ptolemy IX 285
Divine rule under Cleopatra VII 289
Epilogue Fundamentals of the development of the Ptolemaic kingdom 304
Bibliographical supplement 313
Appendix Overview of the events discussed in the history of the
Ptolemaic kingdom 318
Stemma 1 The Ptolemic family to Ptolemy V 354
Stemma 2 The Ptolemic family from Ptolemy V to the end of their
history 356
Stemma 3 Marriage ties between the Ptolemaic women and the
Seleukid court beginning in the mid-second century 358
Index
1 Names of people and gods 360
2 Geographic terms 367
3 General index 371
Map 1 The Ptolemaic empire as a great power in the eastern
Mediterranean basin 374
Map 2 Ptolemaic Egypt 376
Map 3 Alexandria in 30 Be 378
Illustrations
1.1 Silver tetradrachm of Ptolemy I with royal diadem 21
2.1 Ptolemaic cameo of Indian sardonyx with image of
the second Ptolemaic couple 37
2.2 Gold octadrachmon of Berenike II, dating from the
beginning of Ptolemy Ill's reign 47
3.1 Top part of the Pithom Stele 82
3.2 Rounded upper portion of the so-called Satrap Stele of 311 83
3.3 Upper portion of the Mendes Stele 84
3.4 Marble head of Ptolemy III with a diadem and small
bull-horns 97
3.5 Relief from the gate of Philadelphos in front of the first
pylon of the temple of Isis at Philae 102
3.6 Canopus Decree: upper portion of the stele from Kom
el-Hisn 107
4.1 Miniature alabaster head of the young Ptolemy V
with double crown and lock of childhood 139
6.1 Section of the Raphia Decree 163
7.1 Granite head of Ptolemy VI as pharaoh with royal fillet
and double crown 185
8.1 Marble head of Cleopatra VII with a royal diadem 234
9.1 The temples of Philae, c. AD 100 258
9.2 Philae, temple of Isis, view of the second pylon with
scenes of the king with the cartouches of Ptolemy XII
sacrificing before deities 260
9.3 The twin temple of Kom Gmbo 262
9.4 Relief in the birth house of Kom Gmbo: Ptolemy VIII
offering geese and reeds to the god Min 264
9.5 Southern view of the temple of Horus at Edfu 265
9.6 Temple of Horus at Edfu 266
9.7 Relief of the triple monarchy (170-164) from the
antechamber of the temple at Deir el-Medina:
Ptolemy VI, VIII and Cleopatra II before Amun-Re 269
9.8 View of the temple of the birth of Isis at Dendera 270