Editing Ptolemy VI Philometor (section)

===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"/>