Ptolemy III Euergetes

Bust of Ptolemy III Euergetes (Louvre, Paris)

Ptolemy III Euergetes ('the benefactor'): king of the Ptolemaic Empire, ruled from 246 to 222.

Relatives:

Father: Ptolemy II Philadelphus
Mother: Arsinoe I (in official texts, however: Arsinoe II)
Wife: Berenice II, daughter of Magas of Cyrene

Sons: Ptolemy IV Philopator, Magas, Alexander, another son
Daughters: Berenice, Arsinoe III (married to her brother Ptolemy IV)

Main deeds:

284: Birth
279: His mother Arsinoe is accused of a conspiracy and exiled to southern Egypt. Ptolemy III is from now on officially regarded as son of Arsinoe II
251: Engaged to Berenice, daughter of Magas of Cyrene
250 or 249: Death of Magas, who is succeeded by Demetrius the Fair, the son of Demetrius Poliorcetes
Demetrius the Fair is assassinated; Cyrene recovered for the Ptolemaic empire
January 246: marries Berenice; succeeds his father Ptolemy II Philadelphus
Early July 246: in the Seleucid empire, king Antiochus II Theos dies, leaving a confused dynastic situation.
- From his first marriage, with Laodice, he has a son Seleucus II Callinicus, who is immediately recognized as king and lives in Ephesus
- From his second marriage, with Berenice (sister of Ptolemy III), he has a five-year old son Antiochus; they live in Antioch
Late summer 246: the child Antiochus is killed by partisans of Laodice
September 246: Ptolemy III Euergetes decides to avenge his relative: outbreak of the Laodicean War or Third Syrian War.
Ptolemy captures Seleucia and Antioch, but cannot prevent that Berenice is killed by the populace
December 246: Ptolemy proceeds to Babylon; he is still there in February 245 (Invasion of Ptolemy III chronicle = BCHP 11)
Summer 245: Ptolemy is forced to return when the Macedonian king Antigonus II Gonatas is intervening in Egypt's Aegean possessions (naval battle of Andros)
Birth of Ptolemy IV Philopator
243: Anti-Macedonian alliance between Ptolemy III and Aratus, leader of the Achaean League
242/241: Unsuccesful Seleucid attack on Egypt
241: End of the war
February 238: Death of a little daughter named Berenice
229/228-222: Supports the Greeks in their war against Macedonia, but is unable to keep out of the internal quarrels of the Greeks
5 February 222: Death

Ancient-Warfare.com, the online home of Ancient Warfare magazine

Ptolemy III Euergetes
(British Museum)

Egyptian title: Iwaennetjerwysenw Sekhemankhra Setepamun ('Son of the divine brother and sister, Living power of Ra, chosen by Amun'; the divine brother and sister are Ptolemy II Philadelphus and Arsinoe)

Succeeded by: Ptolemy IV Philopator

Information on the web:

Ptolemaic Genealogy (Chris Bennett)
E.R. Bevan, The House of Ptolemy (1927), chapter 6.

Other:

Pogrom? (described in 3 Maccabees)

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