Editing Ptolemy VI Philometor (section)

==Regime==
===Pharaonic ideology and Egyptian religion===
[[File:Head of a statue of Ptolemy VI Philometor. Found at Aigina. Granit. 180-145 BC (4334587826).jpg|thumb|Depiction of Ptolemy VI as pharaoh, found in the sea near [[Aegina]]]]
Like his predecessors, Ptolemy VI fully embraced his role as pharaoh and maintained a mutually beneficial relationship with the traditional Egyptian priesthood. In particular, he maintained close ties with the worship of [[Ptah]] and [[Apis (Greek mythology)|Apis]] at [[Memphis, Egypt|Memphis]]. Ptolemy VI and Cleopatra II seem to have visited Memphis and stayed in the [[Serapeum]] there for the Egyptian New Year festival every year. During these visits, Ptolemy VI personally made the ritual temple offerings expected of the pharaoh.<ref name=H183>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|p=183}}</ref>

In summer 161&nbsp;BC, Ptolemy VI and Cleopatra II gathered a synod of all the priests of Egypt in order to pass a decree granting tax relief and other benefactions to the priests in exchange for cultic honours in Egyptian temples – part of a series of [[Ptolemaic decrees|decrees]] that had been issued under each of his predecessors, going back to Ptolemy III. The decree survives only on one fragmentary stele known as ''CG 22184''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lanciers |first1=C. |title=Die Stele CG 22184: Ein Priesterdekret aus der Regierungszeit des ptolemaios VI. Philometor |journal=Gottinger Miszellen: Beiträge zur agyptologischen Diskussion |date=1987 |volume=95 |pages=53–61}}</ref><ref name=H183/> Other inscriptions record specific benefactions made at various points during the reign. In September 157 BC, Ptolemy VI affirmed the grant of all the tax revenue from the [[Dodecaschoenus]] region to the Temple of Isis at [[Philae]], first made by his predecessor. The grant is recorded in the [[Dodecaschoenus decree]]. Around 145&nbsp;BC, he granted the tribute from a Nubian leader to the priests of [[Mandulis]] at Philae.<ref name=H189>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|p=189}}</ref>

===Relations with the Jews===
The Jewish historian [[Josephus]] emphasises Ptolemy VI's personal interest in the Jews and their well-being.<ref>Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'' 13.74-79</ref> There had been a Jewish community in Egypt since at least the fifth century BC and it had grown significantly since the establishment of Ptolemaic control over [[Jerusalem]] in 311&nbsp;BC. By Ptolemy VI's reign, Jews had long been incorporated into the Ptolemaic army, and they enjoyed various privileges comparable to those possessed by Greeks and Macedonians in Egypt. A large group of new Jewish immigrants arrived in Egypt in the 160s BC, fleeing civil conflict with the [[Maccabees]]. This group was led by [[Onias IV]], son of a former [[Kohen Gadol|high priest]] who had been deposed by the Seleucids. Ptolemy VI permitted them to settle at [[Leontopolis]], which became known as the [[Land of Onias]], and to establish a temple with Onias as High Priest.<ref>[[Josephus]] ''Antiquities of the Jews'' 12.387 & 13.65-71</ref> The place is still known as Tell al-Jahudija (Hill of the Jews) today. Onias was also granted an important military position and his family became prominent members of the royal court. In Alexandria the Jews had their own quarter of the city with its own ''politeuma'' – a kind of self-governing community within the city, led by their own [[ethnarch]]. It is likely that this ''politeuma'' was established under Ptolemy VI.<ref>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|pp=189–191}}</ref>

===Relations with Nubia===
[[File:Agilkia_Isis-Tempel_24.JPG|thumb|Stele of Ptolemy VI at Philae, recording the grant of tax revenues to the Temple of Isis]]
Until the reign of [[Ptolemy IV]], the Ptolemies had controlled the region south of [[Aswan]] to the [[second cataract]], which was known as the [[Triacontaschoenus]] or [[Lower Nubia]] and included rich gold mines. Throughout the 160s and 150s BC, Ptolemy VI reasserted Ptolemaic control over the northern part of [[Nubia]]. This achievement is heavily advertised at the Temple of [[Isis]] at [[Philae]], which was granted the tax revenues of the [[Dodecaschoenus]] region in 157&nbsp;BC. Decorations on the first pylon of the Temple of Isis at Philae emphasise the Ptolemaic claim to rule the whole of Nubia. The aforementioned inscription regarding the priests of Mandulis shows that some Nubian leaders at least were paying tribute to the Ptolemaic treasury in this period. In order to secure the region, the ''strategos'' of Upper Egypt, [[Boethus (strategos)|Boethus]], founded two new cities, named Philometris and Cleopatra in honour of the royal couple.<ref>{{cite book |last=Török |first=László |title=Between Two Worlds: The Frontier Region Between Ancient Nubia and Egypt, 3700 BC-AD 500 |publisher=Brill |year=2009 |location=Leiden, New York, Köln | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=irbP2hHqDAwC |isbn=978-90-04-17197-8 |pages=400–404}}</ref><ref name=H189/><ref name=G325>{{harvnb|Grainger|2010|p=325}}</ref>