Editing Ptolemy VI Philometor (section)

==First reign (180–164 BC)==
===Regencies===
Ptolemy VI, who was only six years old, was immediately crowned king, with his mother Cleopatra I as co-regent. In documents from this period, Cleopatra I is named before Ptolemy VI and coins were minted under the joint authority of her and her son.<ref name=Tyndale/> In the face of continued agitation for war with the Seleucids, Cleopatra I pursued a peaceful policy, because of her own Seleucid roots and because a war would have threatened her hold on power.<ref name=H143>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|p=143}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Grainger|2010|pp=281–2}}</ref> She probably died in late 178 or early 177&nbsp;BC, though some scholars place her death in late 176&nbsp;BC.<ref name=BennettC/>

Ptolemy VI was still too young to rule on his own. On her deathbed, Cleopatra I appointed Eulaeus and Lenaeus, two of her close associates, as regents. Eulaeus, a eunuch who had been Ptolemy VI's tutor, was the more senior of the two, even minting coinage in his own name. Lenaeus was a Syrian slave who had probably come to Egypt as part of Cleopatra I's retinue when she got married. He seems to have been specifically in charge of managing the kingdom's finances.<ref>{{harvnb|Morkholm|1961|pp=32–43}}</ref>

Eulaeus and Lenaeus sought to reinforce their authority by augmenting the dignity of Ptolemy VI. In early 175&nbsp;BC, they arranged his marriage to his sister Cleopatra II. Brother-sister marriage was traditional in the Ptolemaic dynasty and was probably adopted in imitation of earlier Egyptian [[Pharaoh]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/PtolemyII.html|title=Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt|publisher=Ancient Egypt Online|access-date=May 22, 2013}}</ref> The couple were incorporated into the Ptolemaic dynastic cult as the ''Theoi Philometores'' ('the Mother-loving Gods'), named in honour of the deceased Cleopatra I.<ref name=Tyndale/> In Egyptian religious contexts, the title recalled the relationship of the Pharaoh as [[Horus]] to his mother [[Isis]].<ref>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|p=143 & 168}}</ref> Ptolemy VI and Cleopatra II were still young children, so the marriage was not consummated for many years; they would eventually have at least four children together.

===Sixth Syrian War (170 BC–168 BC)===
[[File:Antiochus IV Epiphanes - Altes Museum - Berlin - Germany 2017.jpg|thumb|[[Antiochus IV]]]]
{{main|Sixth Syrian War}}
The Seleucid king [[Seleucus IV]], Ptolemy VI's uncle, had followed a generally peaceful policy, but he was murdered in 175&nbsp;BC. After two months of conflict his brother [[Antiochus IV]] secured the throne.<ref>[[II Maccabees]] 3.</ref> The unsettled situation empowered the warhawks in the Ptolemaic court, and Eulaeus and Lenaeus were unable or unwilling to resist them, with Cleopatra I no longer alive. By 172&nbsp;BC, preparations for war were underway.<ref>[[Livy]] XLII.26.8</ref> [[Roman Republic|Rome]] and [[Antigonid Macedonia|Macedon]] commenced the [[Third Macedonian War]] in 171&nbsp;BC, lessening their ability to interfere with Ptolemaic affairs, and the Egyptian government considered the moment for war had come.<ref name=H1434>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|pp=143–4}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Grainger|2010|pp=284–8}}</ref>

In October 170&nbsp;BC, Ptolemy VIII was promoted to the status of co-regent alongside his brother and sister. The current year was declared the first year of a new era.<ref name=Tyndale/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Skeat |first1=T.C. |title=The twelfth year which is also the first": the invasion of Egypt by Antiochos Epiphanes |journal=Journal of Egyptian Archaeology |date=1961 |volume=47 |pages=107–113}}</ref> John Grainger argues that the two brothers had become the figureheads for separate factions at court and that these ceremonies were intended to promote unity within the court in the run-up to war.<ref>{{harvnb|Grainger|2010|pp=294–5}}</ref> Shortly afterwards, Ptolemy VI, now around sixteen, was declared an adult and celebrated his coming-of-age ceremony (the ''anakleteria'').<ref>Polybius XXVIII.12.8</ref><ref name=Walbank>{{cite book |last1=Walbank |first1=F. W. |title=Commentary on Polybius III: Commentary on Books XIX–XL |date=1979 |publisher=The Clarendon Press |location=Oxford |pages=321ff}}</ref><ref name=Tyndale/> He was now ostensibly ruling in his own right, although in practice Eulaeus and Lenaeus remained in charge of the government.
 
The Sixth Syrian War broke out shortly after this, probably in early 169&nbsp;BC.<ref>Diodorus 30.16</ref><ref name=Walbank/> The Ptolemaic army set out from the border fort of [[Pelusium]] to invade Palestine, but was intercepted and defeated by Antiochus IV's army in the [[Sinai (peninsula)|Sinai]].<ref>Porphyry, ''FGrH'' 260 F 49a</ref> Antiochus seized Pelusium and then pursued the Egyptians, who had withdrawn to the [[Nile Delta]].<ref>Polybius 28.19; Diodorus 30.18</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Grainger|2010|pp=296–7}}</ref>

This defeat led to the collapse of the Ptolemaic government in Alexandria. Eulaeus attempted to send Ptolemy VI to the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]] island of [[Samothrace]] with the Ptolemaic treasury.<ref>Polybius 28.21; Diodorus 30.17</ref> Before this could happen, two prominent Ptolemaic generals, Comanus and Cineas, launched a military coup and took control of the Egyptian government.<ref>Polybius 28.19</ref> As Antiochus IV advanced on [[Alexandria]], Ptolemy VI went out to meet him. They negotiated an agreement of friendship, which in effect reduced Ptolemy VI to a Seleucid client.<ref>Polybius 30.23</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Grainger|2010|pp=297–300}}</ref> When news of the agreement reached Alexandria, the people of the city rioted. Comanus and Cineas rejected the agreement and Ptolemy VI's authority, declaring Ptolemy VIII the sole king (Cleopatra II's position remained unchanged).<ref>Polybius 29.23.4; Porphyry ''FGrH'' 260 F 2.7</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Grainger|2010|pp=300–1}}</ref>  Antiochus IV responded by placing Alexandria under siege, but he was unable to take the city and withdrew from Egypt in September 169&nbsp;BC, as winter approached, leaving Ptolemy VI as his puppet king in [[Memphis, Egypt|Memphis]] and retaining a garrison in Pelusium.<ref>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|pp=144–6}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Grainger|2010|pp=301–2}}</ref>

Within two months, Ptolemy VI had reconciled with Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra II and returned to Alexandria. The restored government repudiated the agreement that Ptolemy VI had made with Antiochus IV, and began to recruit new troops from Greece.<ref>Polybius 29.23.4; Livy 45.11.2-7</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Grainger|2010|pp=303–4}}</ref> In response, Antiochus IV invaded Egypt for a second time in the spring of 168 BC. Officially, this invasion was presented as an effort to restore Ptolemy VI's position against his younger brother.<ref>Diodorus 31.1</ref> Antiochus IV quickly occupied Memphis, where he was crowned king of Egypt, and advanced on Alexandria.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mooren |first1=L. |title=Actes du XVe Congrès Internationale du Papyrologie |date=1978–1979 |location=Brussels |pages=IV.78–84 |chapter=Antiochos IV Epiphanes und das Ptolemäische Königtum}}</ref> However, the Ptolemies had appealed to Rome for help over the winter; a Roman embassy led by [[Gaius Popillius Laenas]] confronted Antiochus IV at the town of Eleusis and forced him to agree to a settlement, bringing the war to an end.<ref>Polybius 9.27; Diodorus 31.2-3.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|pp=146–8}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Grainger|2010|pp=305–8}}</ref>

===Rebellions and expulsion (168–164 BC)===
The joint rule of the two brothers and Cleopatra II continued in the immediate aftermath of the war. However, the complete failure of the Egyptian forces had left the Ptolemaic monarchy's prestige seriously diminished and caused a permanent rift between Ptolemy VI and Ptolemy VIII.<ref name=G3101>{{harvnb|Grainger|2010|pp=310–1}}</ref>

In 165&nbsp;BC, [[Dionysius Petosarapis]], a prominent courtier who appears to have been of native Egyptian origin, attempted to exploit the conflict in order to take control of the government. He went to the [[stadium]] and announced to the people of Alexandria that Ptolemy VI was plotting to assassinate Ptolemy VIII. Ptolemy VI managed to convince his younger brother that the charges were untrue and the two kings appeared together in the stadium, defusing the crisis. Dionysius fled the city and convinced some military contingents to mutiny.<ref>Diodorus 31.15a</ref> Heavy fighting took place in the [[Fayyum]] over the next year.<ref name="McGing"/><ref>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|p=181}}</ref><ref name=G3101/> Another, apparently unrelated, rebellion broke out simultaneously in the [[Thebaid]], the latest in a series of native Egyptian uprisings against Ptolemaic rule. Ptolemy VI successfully suppressed the rebellion after a bitter siege at [[Panopolis]].<ref>Diodorus 31.17b</ref><ref name="McGing">{{cite journal |last1=McGing |first1=B.C. |title=Revolt Egyptian Style: Internal Opposition to Ptolemaic Rule |journal=Archiv für Papyrusforschung |date=1997 |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=289–90}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|pp=181–2}}</ref><ref name=G3101/>

Owing to the preceding years of conflict, many farms had been abandoned, threatening the government's agricultural revenue. In autumn 165&nbsp;BC the Ptolemies issued a royal decree, ''On Agriculture'', which attempted to force land back into cultivation. The measure was very unpopular and prompted widespread protests.<ref>''P. Genova'' 3.92 ([http://papyri.info/ddbdp/p.genova;3;92 original text])</ref> A new branch of government, the [[Idios Logos]] (Special Account), was established to manage estates that had become royal property as a result of confiscation or abandonment.<ref>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|p=182}}</ref>

Late in 164&nbsp;BC,<ref name=Tyndale/> probably not long after Ptolemy VI had returned from the south, Ptolemy VIII, who was now about twenty years old, somehow expelled Ptolemy VI and Cleopatra II from power – the exact course of events is not known. Ptolemy VI fled to Rome for help, traveling with only a eunuch and three servants. In Rome, he seems to have received nothing, and for accommodation had a poor room in an attic, offered by and shared with a painter of personal acquaintance.<ref>Diodorus 31.18; [[Valerius Maximus]] 5.1.1.</ref> From there he moved on to [[Cyprus]], which remained under his control.<ref name="H183"/>