2019
Some scholars believe Ptolemy II Philadelphus was a leader relying on diplomacy rather than war to relate with Egypt’s neighbours and competitors. During his reign though Ptolemy II was involved in a number of conflicts confronting his eastern neighbours, the Seleukids, especially over the control of Koile Syria. Due to these conflicts, Philadelphus’ religious, military, foreign and internal economical and political policies were much influenced. Ptolemaic Egypt under Ptolemy II Philadelphus was a period of war, trade, diplomatic relations, new dynastic religious beliefs and great internal and external achievements. Some of Philadelphus’ main focusses were the control over parts of the Mediterranean, the Aegean, north-east Africa and west Asia. All these conquests, together with some of the political, military and religious relationships that Philadelphus built during his reign, aimed at securing Egypt’s borders and therefore also its survival in a time of great convulsions. The First and Second Syrian wars not only led Ptolemies policies, but also influenced some of Egypt’s breath taking initiatives, such as the exploration of Nubia for gold, the aim of controlling trade routes in Arabia or an extraordinary war-elephants hunting enterprise in North-east Africa. Ptolemy’s relationships with Pyrrhus of Epirus, the Kushite kingdom or Magas of Cyrene, just to give but few examples, were also partly driven by the position of the Seleukids on Egypt’s eastern border. Supported by his sister and wife Arsinoe II, Ptolemy II was involved in the control of the sea and the navigation routes in the Mediterranean and the Aegean, always having in mind his dangerous foes, the Seleukids. In this research, the relations between Ptolemaic Egypt and his neighbours will be looked at, focussing especially on Philadelphus’ relationship with Antiochus I and II and the consequences of these relationships for Egypt’s internal and external affairs.