Ptolemy VI Philometor (, Ptolemaĩos Philomḗtōr;"Ptolemy, lover of his Mother". 186–145 BC) was a Greek king of Ptolemaic Egypt who reigned from 180 to 164 BC and from 163 to 145 BC. He is often considered the last ruler of ancient Egypt when that state was still a major power.Distinguished in the sanctuary, the twin brother of the living Apis bull upon their birth stone, heir of the two gods who has emerged, chosen by Ptah-Khapri, who carried out Maat for Amun-RaKarl Richard Lepsius, Der Ägyptischen Denkmäler für die Kentnise der Ptolemäergesichte, taf. 1-Bessersche Buchhandlung, Berlin 1853, Taf. II
Ptolemy VI, the eldest son of King Ptolemy V and Queen Cleopatra I, came to the throne aged six when his father died in 180 BC. The kingdom was governed by regents: his mother until her death in 178 or 177 BC and then two of her associates, Eulaeus and Lenaeus, until 169 BC. From 170 BC, his sister-wife Cleopatra II and his younger brother Ptolemy VIII were co-rulers alongside him. Ptolemy VI's reign was characterised by external conflict with the Seleucid Empire over Syria and by internal conflict with his younger brother for control of the Ptolemaic monarchy. In the Sixth Syrian War (170–168 BC), the Ptolemaic forces were utterly defeated and Egypt was twice invaded by Seleucid armies. A few years after the Seleucid conflict ended, Ptolemy VIII succeeded in expelling Ptolemy VI from Egypt in 164 BC.
In 163 BC, the people of Alexandria turned against Ptolemy VIII and invited Ptolemy VI back to the throne. In this second reign Ptolemy VI was much more successful in his conflicts against the Seleucids and his brother. He banished his brother to Cyrenaica and repeatedly prevented him from using that as a springboard to taking Cyprus, despite substantial Roman intervention in Ptolemy VIII's favour. By supporting a series of rival claimants for the Seleucid throne, Ptolemy VI helped instigate a civil war which would continue for generations and eventually consume the Seleucid dynasty. In 145 BC, Ptolemy VI invaded Seleucid Syria and won a total victory at the Battle of the Oenoparus, which left him in charge of both the Seleucid and Ptolemaic realms. However, injuries that he sustained in the battle led to his death three days later. The gains from the war were almost immediately lost and Ptolemy VIII returned to power.
Background and early life
Ptolemy VI was the eldest son of Ptolemy V and Cleopatra I. The early reign of Ptolemy V was dominated by the Fifth Syrian War (204–198 BC) against the Seleucid king Antiochus III, who completely defeated the Ptolemaic forces, annexed Coele-Syria and Judaea to his empire, and reduced Egypt to a subordinate position. Under a peace treaty, Ptolemy V married Antiochus III's daughter Cleopatra I in 194 BC.
Ptolemy VI was born in 186 BC, probably in May or June.The year is deduced from: (1) the award of extensive divine honours to his mother Cleopatra I in the Philae I decree of 185 BC, (2) the fact that Ptolemy VI's Horus name refers to him as 'twin brother of the living Apis Bull', which suggests that he was born in the same year as an Apis Bull - the only available candidate was born and installed in 185 BC: . The month is known from an inscription on Cyprus (SEG 20.311), recording birthday celebrations in his honour in the month of Pharmouthi: He had two siblings: a sister, Cleopatra II, who was probably born between 186 and 184 BC, and a younger brother, Ptolemy VIII. His father advertised Ptolemy VI's position as heir within Egypt and to the wider world, for example by entering a chariot team under his name in the Panathenaic Games of 182 BC.IG II² 2314 line 56; The defeat in the Fifth Syrian War cast a shadow over the rest of Ptolemy V's reign. One prominent faction within the Ptolemaic court agitated for a return to war in order to restore Egyptian prestige, while another faction resisted the expense involved in rebuilding and remilitarising the realm. Ptolemy V died unexpectedly in September 180 BC, at the age of only 30. It is possible that he was murdered as a result of this factional infighting – a late source claims that he had been poisoned.Jerome, Commentary on Daniel 11.20
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. The mother’s extraordinary role is also reflected in the epithet ‘Philometor’ (‘lover of his Mother’), which Ptolemy was given at an early age. In the face of continued agitation for war with the Seleucids, Cleopatra I pursued a peaceful policy, possibly because of her own Seleucid roots and because a war would have threatened her hold on power. She probably died in late 178 or early 177 BC, though some scholars place her death in late 176 BC.
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.
Eulaeus and Lenaeus sought to reinforce their authority by augmenting the dignity of Ptolemy VI. In early 175 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 Pharaohs. 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. In Egyptian religious contexts, the title recalled the relationship of the Pharaoh as Horus to his mother Isis. 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)
The Seleucid king Seleucus IV, Ptolemy VI's uncle, had followed a generally peaceful policy, but he was murdered in 175 BC. After two months of conflict his brother Antiochus IV secured the throne.II Maccabees 3. 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 BC, preparations for war were underway.Livy XLII.26.8 Rome and Macedon commenced the Third Macedonian War in 171 BC, lessening their ability to interfere with Ptolemaic affairs, and the Egyptian government considered the moment for war had come.
In October 170 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. 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. Shortly afterwards, Ptolemy VI, now around sixteen, was declared an adult and celebrated his coming-of-age ceremony (the anakleteria).Polybius XXVIII.12.8 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 BC.Diodorus 30.16 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.Porphyry, FGrH 260 F 49a Antiochus seized Pelusium and then pursued the Egyptians, who had withdrawn to the Nile Delta.Polybius 28.19; Diodorus 30.18
This defeat led to the collapse of the Ptolemaic government in Alexandria. Eulaeus attempted to send Ptolemy VI to the Aegean island of Samothrace with the Ptolemaic treasury.Polybius 28.21; Diodorus 30.17 Before this could happen, two prominent Ptolemaic generals, Comanus and Cineas, launched a military coup and took control of the Egyptian government.Polybius 28.19 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.Polybius 30.23 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).Polybius 29.23.4; Porphyry FGrH 260 F 2.7 Antiochus IV responded by placing Alexandria under siege, but he was unable to take the city and withdrew from Egypt in September 169 BC, as winter approached, leaving Ptolemy VI as his puppet king in Memphis and retaining a garrison in Pelusium.
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.Polybius 29.23.4; Livy 45.11.2-7 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.Diodorus 31.1 Antiochus IV quickly occupied Memphis, where he was crowned king of Egypt, and advanced on Alexandria. He left the country for unknown reasons, but came back shortly afterwards as Ptolemy VI started to cooperate with his brother. 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.Polybius 9.27; Diodorus 31.2-3.
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.
Between 168 and 164 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.The only ancient source for this is Diodorus 31.15a, see . Heavy fighting took place in the Fayyum over the next year the connection of which to Dionysius is unknown. 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.Diodorus 31.17b
Owing to the preceding years of conflict, many farms had been abandoned, threatening the government's agricultural revenue. In autumn 165 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.P. Genova 3.92 (original text) 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.