Editing Ptolemy III Euergetes (section)

==Reign==
===Cyrenaica (246 BC)===
[[Image:BerenikeIIOnACoinOfPtolemyIII.jpg|thumb|left|[[Berenice II]], the wife and half-cousin of Ptolemy III]]
[[Crete and Cyrenaica|Cyrene]] had been the first Ptolemaic territory outside Egypt, but Magas had rebelled against Ptolemy II and declared himself king of [[Cyrenaica]] in 276 BC. The aforementioned engagement of Ptolemy III to Berenice had been intended to lead to the reunification of Egypt and Cyrene after Magas' death. However, when Magas died in 250 BC, Berenice's mother Apame refused to honour the agreement and invited an Antigonid prince, [[Demetrius the Fair]], to Cyrene to marry Berenice instead. With Apame's help, Demetrius seized control of the city, but he was assassinated by Berenice.<ref>Justin 26.3.3–6; [[Catullus]] 66.25–28</ref> A republican government, led by two Cyrenaeans named Ecdelus and Demophanes, controlled Cyrene for four years.<ref name=H446>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|pp=44–46}}</ref>

It was only with Ptolemy III's accession in 246 BC, that the wedding of Ptolemy III and Berenice seems to have actually taken place. Ptolemaic authority over Cyrene was forcefully reasserted. Two new port cities were established, named [[Ptolemais (Cyrenaica)|Ptolemais]] and Berenice (modern [[Tolmeita]] and [[Benghazi]]) after the dynastic couple. The cities of Cyrenaica were unified in a League overseen by the king, as a way of balancing the cities' desire for political autonomy against the Ptolemaic desire for control.<ref>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|pp=46–47}}</ref>

===Third Syrian War (246–241 BC)===
[[File:Coin_of_Seleucus_II_Callinicus_(cropped),_Antioch_mint.jpg|thumb|left|Seleucus II]]
{{main|Third Syrian War}}
In July 246 BC, [[Antiochus II]], king of the [[Seleucid empire]], died suddenly. By his first wife [[Laodice I]], Antiochus II had had a son, [[Seleucus II]], who was about 19 years old in 246 BC. However, in 253 BC, he had agreed to repudiate Laodice and marry Ptolemy III's sister [[Berenice (Seleucid queen)|Berenice]]. Antiochus II and Berenice had a son named Antiochus, who was still an infant when his father died. A succession dispute broke out immediately after Antiochus II's death. Ptolemy III quickly invaded Syria in support of his sister and her son, marking the beginning of the Third Syrian War (also known as the Laodicean War).<ref>[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Africa/Egypt/_Texts/BEVHOP/6*.html Bevan]</ref><ref name=H48>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|p=48}}</ref>

An account of the initial phase of this war, written by Ptolemy III himself, is preserved on the [[Gurob papyrus]]. At the outbreak of war, Laodice I and Seleucus II were based in western [[Asia Minor]], while the widowed Queen Berenice was in [[Antioch]]. The latter quickly seized control of [[Cilicia]] to prevent Laodice I from entering Syria. Meanwhile, Ptolemy III marched along the Levantine coast encountering minimal resistance. The cities of [[Seleucia Pieria|Seleucia]] and Antioch surrendered to him without a fight in late autumn.<ref>Gurob Papyrus</ref> At Antioch, Ptolemy III went to the royal palace to plan his next moves with Berenice in person, only to discover that she and her young son had been murdered.<ref>Justin ''Epitome of Pompeius Trogus'' 27.1, [[Polyaenus]] ''Stratagems'' 8.50</ref><ref name=H48/>

Rather than accept defeat in the face of this setback, Ptolemy III continued his campaign through Syria and into [[Mesopotamia]], where he conquered [[Babylon]] at the end of 246 or beginning of 245 BC.<ref>[https://www.livius.org/cg-cm/chronicles/bchp-ptolemy_iii/bchp_ptolemy_iii_01.html Ptolemy III chronicle]; [[Appian]], ''Syriaca'' 11.65.</ref> In light of this success, he may have been crowned 'Great King' of Asia.<ref>[[OGIS]] 54 (the 'Adulis inscription').</ref> Early in 245 BC, he established a governor of the land 'on the other side' of the [[Euphrates]], indicating an intention to permanently incorporate the region into the Ptolemaic kingdom.<ref name=Jerome/><ref name=H49>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|p=49}}</ref>

[[File:Ptolemy III Euergetes.jpg|thumb|A statue that may represent Ptolemy III in Pharaonic guise]]
At this point however, Ptolemy III received notice that a revolt had broken out in Egypt and he was forced to return home to suppress it.<ref>Justin 27.1.9; Porphyry ''[[FGrH]]'' 260 F43</ref> By July 245 BC, the Seleucids had recaptured Mesopotamia.<ref>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|pp=49–50}}</ref> The Egyptian revolt is significant as the first of a series of native Egyptian uprisings which would trouble Egypt for the next century. One reason for this revolt was the heavy tax-burdens placed on the people of Egypt by Ptolemy III's war in Syria. Furthermore, papyri records indicate that the [[inundation]] of the [[Nile]] river failed in 245 BC, resulting in famine.<ref name=H49/> [[Climate proxy]] studies suggest that this resulted from changes of the [[monsoon]] pattern at the time, resulting from a volcanic eruption which took place in 247 BC.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-10/fe-vel101317.php|title=Volcanic eruptions linked to social unrest in Ancient Egypt|year=2017|work=EurekAlert}}</ref>

After his return to Egypt and suppression of the revolt, Ptolemy III made an effort to present himself as a victorious king in both Egyptian and Greek cultural contexts. Official propaganda, like ''OGIS'' 54, an inscription set up in [[Adulis]] and probably the copy of an inscription in Alexandria, vastly exaggerated Ptolemy III's conquests, claiming even [[Bactria]] among his conquests.<ref>Pfeiffer, Stefan: ''Griechische und lateinische Inschriften zum Ptolemäerreich und zur römischen Provinz Aegyptus.'' Münster: Lit, 2015, p. 56-61.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rossini |first1=A. |date=December 2021 |title=Iscrizione trionfale di Tolomeo III ad Aduli |url=https://edizionicafoscari.unive.it/it/edizioni/riviste/axon/2021/2/iscrizione-trionfale-di-tolomeo-iii-ad-aduli/ |journal=Axon |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=93–142 |doi=10.30687/Axon/2532-6848/2021/02/005|s2cid=245042574 |doi-access=free }}</ref> At the new year in 243 BC, Ptolemy III incorporated himself and his wife Berenice II into the Ptolemaic state cult, to be worshipped as the ''Theoi Euergetai'' (Benefactor Gods), in honour of his restoration to Egypt of statues found in the Seleucid territories, which had been seized by the [[Achaemenid Persia|Persians]].<ref name=Jerome>[[Jerome]], ''Commentary on Daniel'' 11.7–9</ref><ref name=H49/>

There may also have been a second theatre to this war in the Aegean. The general Ptolemy Andromachou, ostensibly an illegitimate son of Ptolemy II and the half-brother of Ptolemy III,<ref>[http://instonebrewer.com/TyndaleSites/Egypt/ptolemies/andromachou_fr.htm Ptolemy Andromachou] by Chris Bennett</ref> captured [[Ephesus]] from the Seleucids in 246 BC. At an uncertain date around 245 BC, he fought a [[Battle of Andros (246 BC)|sea-battle at Andros]] against King [[Antigonus II]] of [[Antigonid Macedonia|Macedon]], in which the Ptolemaic forces were defeated. It appears that he then led an invasion of Thrace, where [[Maroneia]] and [[Enez|Aenus]] were under Ptolemaic control as of 243 BC. Ptolemy Andromachou was subsequently assassinated at Ephesus by Thracian soldiers under his control.<ref>''P. Haun'' 6; [[Athenaeus]] ''Deipnosophistae'' 13.593a</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|p=50}}</ref>

The only further action known from the war is some fighting near [[Damascus]] in 242 BC.<ref>Porphyry ''[[FGrH]]'' 260 F 32.8</ref> Shortly after this, in 241 BC, Ptolemy made peace with the Seleucids, retaining all the conquered territory in Asia Minor and northern Syria. Nearly the whole Mediterranean coast from Maroneia in [[Thrace]] to the [[Gulf of Sidra|Syrtis]] in [[Libya]] was now under Ptolemaic control. One of the most significant acquisitions was Seleucia Pieria, the port of Antioch, whose loss was a significant economic and logistical set-back for the Seleucids.<ref>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|pp=50–51}}</ref>

===Later reign (241–222 BC)===
[[File:Naples National Archaeological Museum (26636958752).jpg|thumb|left|Bust of Ptolemy III Euergetes, located in the [[Naples National Archaeological Museum]]]]
The conclusion of the Third Syrian War marked the end of military intervention in the Seleucid territories, but Ptolemy III continued to offer covert financial assistance to the opponents of Seleucus II. From 241 BC, this included [[Antiochus Hierax]], the younger brother of Seleucus II, who rebelled against his brother and established his own separate kingdom in Asia Minor. Ptolemy III sent military forces to support him only when a group of [[Galatians (people)|Galatian]] mercenaries rebelled against him<ref>Porphyry ''[[FGrH]]'' 260 F32.8</ref> but is likely to have supported him more tacitly throughout his conflict with Seleucus II. He offered similar support to [[Attalus I]], the dynast of [[Pergamum]], who took advantage of this civil conflict to expand his territories in northwestern Asia Minor. When the Seleucid general [[Achaeus (general)|Achaeus]] was sent in 223 BC to reconquer the territories in Asia Minor that had been lost to Attalus, Ptolemy III sent his son [[Magas of Egypt|Magas]] with a military force to aid Attalus, but he was unable to prevent Attalus' defeat.<ref>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|pp=53–4}}</ref>

[[File:Map Cleomenean War-en.svg|thumb|Greece around the time of the Cleomenean War]]
Ptolemy III maintained his father's hostile policy to [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonia]]. This probably involved direct conflict with Antigonus II during the Third Syrian War, but after the defeat at Andros in c. 245 BC, Ptolemy III seems to have returned to the policy of indirect opposition, financing enemies of the Antigonids in mainland Greece. The most prominent of these was the [[Achaian League]], a federation of Greek city-states in the [[Peloponnese]] that were united by their opposition to Macedon. From 243 BC, Ptolemy III was the nominal leader (''hegemon'') and military commander of the League<ref>[[Plutarch]] ''Life of Aratus'' 24.4</ref> and supplied them with a yearly payment.<ref>Plutarch ''Life of Aratus'' 41.5</ref> After 240 BC, Ptolemy also forged an alliance with the [[Aetolian League]] in northwest Greece.<ref>[[Frontinus]] ''Stratagems'' 2.6.5; ''P. Haun.'' 6</ref> From 238 to 234 BC, the two leagues waged the [[Demetrian War]] against Macedon with Ptolemaic financial support.<ref>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|p=51}}</ref>

However, in 229 BC, the [[Cleomenean War]] (229–222 BC) broke out between the Achaian League and [[Cleomenes III]] of [[Sparta]]. As a result, in 226 BC, [[Aratos of Sicyon]] the leader of the Achaian League forged an alliance with the Macedonian king [[Antigonus III]]. Ptolemy III responded by immediately breaking off relations with the Achaian League and redirecting his financial support to Sparta. Most of the rest of the Greek states were brought under the Macedonian umbrella in 224 BC when Antigonus established the "Hellenic League". However Aetolia and Athens remained hostile to Macedon and redoubled their allegiance to Ptolemy III. In Athens, in 224 BC, extensive honours were granted to Ptolemy III to entrench their alliance with him, including the creation of a new [[Phyle#Attic tribes|tribe]] named [[Ptolemais (tribe)|Ptolemais]] in his honour and a new [[deme]] named [[Berenicidae]] in honour of Queen Berenice II.<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] 1.5.5; [[Stephanus of Byzantium]] sv. Βερενικίδαι</ref> The Athenians instituted a state religious cult in which Ptolemy III and Berenice II were worshipped as gods, including a festival, the Ptolemaia. The centre of the cult was the Ptolemaion,<ref name=H52>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|p=52}}</ref> which also served as the [[Gymnasium (ancient Greece)|gymnasium]] where young male citizens undertook civic and military training.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Pélékidis |first1=Ch. |title=Histoire de l'éphébie attique des origines à 31 av. J.-C |date=1962 |pages=263–64}}</ref>

Cleomenes III suffered serious defeats in 223 BC and Ptolemy III abandoned his support for him in the next year – probably as a result of an agreement with Antigonus. The Egyptian king seems to have been unwilling to commit actual troops to Greece, particularly as the threat of renewed war with the Seleucids was looming. Cleomenes III was defeated and forced to flee to Alexandria, where Ptolemy III offered him hospitality and promised to help restore him to power.<ref>Plutarch, ''Life of Cleomenes'' 29–32</ref> However, these promises were not fulfilled, and the Cleomenian War would in fact be the last time that the Ptolemies intervened in mainland Greece.<ref name=H52/>

In November or December 222 BC, shortly after Cleomenes' arrival in Egypt and Magas' failure in Asia Minor, Ptolemy III died of natural causes.<ref>[[Polybius]] 2.71.3; Justin 29.1 claims that Ptolemy III was murdered by his son, but this is probably slander.</ref><ref name=CBP3/> He was succeeded by his son [[Ptolemy IV]] without incident.