Ptolemy V
| Ptolemy V Epiphanes | |
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Ancient Greek: Πτολεμαῖος Ἐπιφανής Egyptian: Iwaennetjerwymerwyitu Seteppah Userkare Sekhem-ankhamun |
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Tetradrachm issued by Ptolemy V Epiphanes, British Museum
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| King of Egypt | |
| Reign | 204–181 BC (Ptolemaic) |
| Coregency | Cleopatra I |
| Predecessor | Ptolemy IV |
| Successor | Ptolemy VI |
| Children | Ptolemy VI, Cleopatra II |
Ptolemy V Epiphanes (Ancient Greek: Πτολεμαῖος Ἐπιφανής, Ptolemaĩos Epiphanḗs, reigned 204–181 BC), son of Ptolemy IV Philopator and Arsinoe III of Egypt, was the fifth ruler of the Ptolemaic dynasty. He inherited the throne at the age of five, and under a series of regents, the kingdom was paralyzed. The Rosetta Stone was produced during his reign as an adult.
Ptolemy Epiphanes was only a small boy when his father, Ptolemy Philopator, died. Philopator's two leading favorites, Agathocles and Sosibius, fearing that Arsinoe would secure the regency, had her murdered before she heard of her husband's death, thereby securing the regency for themselves. However, in 202 BC, Tlepolemus, the general in charge of Pelusium, put himself at the head of a revolt. Once Epiphanes was in the hands of Tlepolemus he was persuaded to give a sign that his mother's killers should be killed. The child king gave his consent, it is thought more from fear than anything else, and Agathocles along with several of his supporters were killed by the Alexandrian mob.
Antiochus III the Great and Philip V of Macedon made a pact to divide the Ptolemaic possessions overseas. Philip seized several islands and populated places in Caria and Thrace, whilst the Battle of Panium (198 BC) definitively transferred Coele-Syria, including Judea, from the Ptolemies to the Seleucids.
Antiochus then concluded peace, giving his own daughter Cleopatra I to Epiphanes in marriage (193–192 BC). Nevertheless, when war broke out between Antiochus and Rome, Egypt ranged itself with the latter power.
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