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Were a series of six wars between the Seleucid Empire and the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, successor states to Alexander the Great's empire, during the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC mainyl over the region then called Coele-Syria.
Chronology
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Was one of the wars between the Seleucid Kingdom and the Ptolemaic Kingdom over the domain in the Levant.
January 270 BC: Ptolemy II Philadelphus reconquered territories in Syria and Cilicia.
January 273 BC: The Seleucid Empire annexed Coele-Syria.
Was one of the wars between the Seleucid Kingdom and the Ptolemaic Kingdom over the domain in the Levant.
January 260 BC: Antiochus II Theos regained Miletus and Ephesus.
January 260 BC: Antioch was conquered by the Seleucids during the Third Syrian War.
Was one of the wars between the Seleucid Kingdom and the Ptolemaic Kingdom over the domain in the Levant.
January 245 BC: Ptolemaic forces conquered several cities of the coast of Propontic Thrace during the Third Syrian War around 246 BC.
January 244 BC: Defeated at the Battle of Andros sometime between 258 and 245 BC, the Ptolemies ceded the Cyclades to Macedonia.
January 245 BC: After 246, for about half a century, the Ptolemies, a dynasty of Macedonian Greek origin, ruled over the territory of nan. The Ptolemaic Kingdom was established by Ptolemy I Soter, a general of Alexander the Great, after his death in 323 BC.
January 240 BC: Antiochus II left two ambitious mothers in a competition to put their respective sons on the throne of the Seleucid Kingdom, Laodice and Berenice. Berenice asked her brother Ptolemy III, the new Ptolemaic king, to come to Antioch and help place her son on the throne. When Ptolemy arrived, Berenice and her child had been assassinated.
Ptolemy declared war on Laodice's newly crowned son, Seleucus II, in 246 BC, and campaigned with great success. In exchange for a peace in 241 BC, Ptolemy was awarded new territories on the northern coast of Syria, including Seleucia Pieria, the port of Antioch.
January 245 BC: Seleucid presence was replaced by that of the Ptolemies, who established a satrapy in coastal Thrace.
Was one of the wars between the Seleucid Kingdom and the Ptolemaic Kingdom over the domain in the Levant.
4.1.Invasion of Phoenicia
Was a Seleucid military campaign in Pheonicia to reconquer the region from the Ptoleamic Kingdom during the Fourth Syrian War.
January 218 BC: Upon taking the Seleucid throne in 223 BC, Antiochus III the Great (241-187 BC) set himself the task of restoring the lost imperial possessions of Seleucus I Nicator. Egypt had been significantly weakened by court intrigue and public unrest. The rule of the newly inaugurated Ptolemy IV Philopator (reigned 221-204 BC) began with the murder of queen-mother Berenice II. The young king quickly fell under the absolute influence of imperial courtiers.
Antiochus sought to take advantage of this chaotic situation. He finally began the Fourth Syrian War in 219 BC. He recaptured Seleucia Pieria as well as cities in Phoenicia, amongst them Tyre.
Was one of the many wars between the Ptolemaic Kingdom and the Seleucid Kingdom over the region of Coele-Syria.
January 197 BC: Antiochus completed the subjugation of Coele-Syria in 198 BC and went on to raid Ptolemy's remaining coastal strongholds in Caria and Cilicia.
January 199 BC: The death of Ptolemy IV in 204 BC was followed by a bloody conflict over the regency as his heir, Ptolemy V, was just a child. The regency was passed from one adviser to another, and the kingdom was in a state of near anarchy.
Seeking to take advantage of this turmoil, Antiochus III staged a second invasion of Coele-Syria. After a brief setback at Gaza, he delivered a crushing blow to the Ptolemies at the Battle of Panium near the head of the River Jordan which earned him the important port of Sidon.
Was one of the wars between the Seleucid Kingdom and the Ptolemaic Kingdom over the domain in the Levant.
6.1.Conquest of Pelusium
The Seleucids conquered Pelusium, in Egypt.
December 170 BC: The Seleucids, led by King Antiochus IV, captured the strategic city of Pelusium in -170. This victory allowed the Seleucid Kingdom to expand its territory and exert control over key trade routes in the region.
6.2.Egypt becomes a Seleucid puppet state
Seleucid King Antiochus took Egyptian King Ptolemy VI (who was his nephew) under his guardianship, giving him effective control of Ptolemaic Egypt. .
December 169 BC: The Egyptians realised their folly in starting the war, Eulaeus and Lenaeus were overthrown and replaced by two new regents, Comanus and Cineas, and envoys were sent to negotiate a peace treaty with Antiochus. Antiochus took Ptolemy VI (who was his nephew) under his guardianship, giving him effective control of Egypt.
6.3.Revolt of Egypt against the Seleucids
Egypt revolted against Antiochus IV and expelled the Seleucids.
January 168 BC: The people of Alexandria proclaimed Ptolemy Physcon as sole king. Antiochus besieged Alexandria but he was unable to cut communications to the city so, at the end of 169, he withdrew his army.
6.4.Intervention of Rome in the Sixth Syrian War
Due to the intervention of Rome, the Seleucid King Antiochus IV was forced to leave the territories conquered from the Ptolemaic Kingdom during the Sixth Syrian War.
January 167 BC: At Eleusis, on the outskirts of the capital, Antiochus met Popilius Laenas, with whom he had been friends during his stay in Rome. But instead of a friendly welcome, Popilius offered the king an ultimatum from the Senate: he must evacuate Egypt and Cyprus immediately. Antiochus begged to have time to consider but Popilius drew a circle round him in the sand with his cane and told him to decide before he stepped outside it. Antiochus chose to obey the Roman ultimatum. The "Day of Eleusis" ended the Sixth Syrian War and Antiochus' hopes of conquering Egyptian territory.
Selected Sources
Reger, G. (1994): The Political History of the Kyklades 260–200 B.C., Historia. 43 (1): 33.
Syrian Wars
