Ptolemy IV Philopator

Coin of Ptolemy IV Philopator
(British Museum)

Ptolemy IV Philopator: king of the Ptolemaic Empire, ruled from 222 to 204.

Relatives:

Father: Ptolemy III Euergetes
Mother: Berenice II
Wife: his sister Arsinoe III
Son: Ptolemy V Epiphanes

Ptolemy IV Philopator. Bust at the Louvre, Paris (France). Photo Marco Prins.

Ptolemy IV (Louvre, Paris)

Main deeds:

245 or 244: Born
Already as a young man, he is called Philopator, 'the man who loves his father'
Succeeds his father between 5 and 16 February 222; many relatives are killed (including his mother) by his ministers Agathocles and Sosibius
221: First skirmishes of the Fourth Syrian War: Antiochus III the Great attacks the Ptolemaic possessions in Syria
220: Ptolemy marries his sister Arsinoe III
219: Antiochus reconquers Seleucia (the port of Antioch, which had been conquered by Ptolemy III in the Third Syrian War) and proceeds to the south
13 June 217: Ptolemy's army defeats the Seleucid army at Raphia with an army that consists partly of native Egyptian soldiers
October 217: Peace is concluded; the Seleucid Empire keeps Seleucia. In Egypt, the victory is attributed to Isis and Serapis.
Revolts in Egypt; the Nubians conquer the Dodecaschoenus.
9 October 210: Birth of Ptolemy V
October/November: Revolt of Horwennefer / Ankhwennefer
29 November 205: Ptolemy V is made co-ruler
July or August 204: Death; Arsinoe is assassinated

Ptolemy IV Philopator
(British Museum)

Egyptian title: Iwaennetjerwymenkhwy Setepptah Userkara Sekhemankhamun; andkhdjet meryese ('Son of the divine benefactors, Chosen by Ptah, Mighty Ka of Ra, Living power of Amun; may he live forever, beloved of Isis'; the benefactors are Ptolemy III Euergetes and Berenice)

Succeeded by: Ptolemy V Epiphanes

Information on the web:

Ptolemaic Genealogy (Chris Bennett)
E.R. Bevan, The House of Ptolemy (1927), chapter 7.
A jar of Ptolemy IV Philopator.

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