Ptolemy V Epiphanes

From 4 Enoch: : The Online Encyclopedia of Second Temple Judaism, and Christian and Islamic Origins
Jump to navigation Jump to search


Ptolemy V Epiphanes was King of Egypt, from 204 BE to 181 BCE.

Overview

Ptolemy V was the son and successor of Ptolemy IV Philopator. He was the fifth ruler of the Ptolemaic dinasty.

When his father died, Ptolemy V was only a five-year-old child. Antiochus III the Great and Philip V of Macedonia immediately seized the opportunity to expand their possessions against the Ptolemaic kingdom. With the Battle of Panium (198 BCE) Antiochus gained control of all disputed lands in Syria and imposed a peace treaty that included the marriage of Ptolemy with Antiochus' daughter Cleopatra, which was celebrated in 193 BCE.

Ptolemy V Epiphanes and the Jews

As king of Egypt, Ptolemy V initially ruled over the land of Israel, but he lost control of it to the Seleucid King Antiochus III the Great with the battle of Panium in 198 BCE. Ptolemy was still a child and the power of the Ptolemaic Empire was declining; this time the Jews sided with the Seleucids.

The marriage with Cleopatra "by way of dowry" gave Ptolemy some rights in the collection of taxes from the land of Israel, which had to be divided between the two monarchies, while the political and military control of the region remained in the hands of the Seleucids.

Ptolemy V Epiphanes in Second Temple sources

Ptolemy V Epiphanes in Scholarship

Ptolemy V Epiphanes in Fiction

Related categories

External links