Though Egypt had indulged in bouts of expansionism from an early period, the early Ptolemies pursued a more ambitious foreign policy than any previous dynasty, undoubtedly dictated by the turbulent context in which their kingdom found itself. There was room for diplomacy, dynastic alliances, and marriages, but also for military aggression and wars, fought by strong armies and fleets. The first Ptolemies created a northern buffer-zone that could protect the homeland in future clashes and at the same time provided Egypt with natural resources. Ptolemaic power and control relied on their naval forces, but, as a thalassocracy had proved to be vulnerable, Ptolemy III expanded the zone to the east and in the northern Aegean. Eventually, the Egyptian empire reached its largest extent ever: the Ptolemies controlled an area embracing Cyrenaica to the west, Syria-Phoenicia, Cyprus, parts of Asia Minor’s coast, Greek islands in the Aegean, Thrace, and other regions in the northern Aegean (Bagnall 1976). They had turned the Nilotic kingdom into a Mediterranean kingdom (Manning 2009).
The core of Ptolemaic foreign power was formed by the nearby territories of Cyrenaica, Cyprus, and Syria-Phoenicia which were vital to Egypt’s security and placed under strict royal control. The strong bond with the mother country was reflected in Egypt’s closed currency zone of which they were part. Syria-Phoenicia (also called Koile-Syria) was most fought over, as in Pre-Ptolemaic times. The Seleucid kings of Syria and the Ptolemies fought six Syrian Wars, one of the military highlights being the Battle of Raphia in 217 bc during the Fourth Syrian War. The scale of military preparations and the number of troops on both sides in this conflict were most impressive, but Raphia was a spectacular victory for Ptolemy IV, and, as a result, he was able to reconquer Koile-Syria to be lauded in the new Edfu-temple as ‘‘ruler of Syria.’’
Whereas Ptolemy I was responsible for initiating the creation of the empire, Ptolemy II and III take the credit for its organization and systematization. This successful foreign policy collapsed under the weak government of the infant king Ptolemy V when Egypt was subjected to simultaneous assaults by Seleucid and Macedonian kings. The Ptolemaic king had to give up the majority of the foreign possessions except for Cyprus, Cyrenaica, and some Aegean bases. However, later in his reign Ptolemy V would compensate for the losses by implementing a ‘‘growing systematization of the administration among the remaining provinces,’’ a policy followed by his successors (Bagnall 1976: 244). Ptolemy VI brought foreign policy to a new peak, though after a few extremely difficult years: with the loss of Syria-Phoenicia, Egypt had become vulnerable and Antiochos IV was the first foreign king to invade Ptolemaic Egypt which he achieved twice in the Sixth Syrian War (170/169 and 168 bc), and he may have gone as far south as Elephantine and destroyed the Satis-temple (Vittmann 1997, but see Quack 2010). Whereas in the past diplomatic contacts with the Romans had remained exceptional (Eckstein 2008), this newly emerging power in the east, which had just defeated the Macedonian king at Pydna (168 bc), intervened. On the famous ‘‘day of Eleusis’’ (a suburb of Alexandria) C. Popilius Laenas demanded the complete withdrawal of Antiochos IV from Egypt (Polybius 29.27.5), and he had no alternative but to obey. Probably out of revenge (Blasius 2010) Ptolemy VI was eager to reconquer Koile-Syria, but, due to his unfortunate death in Syria in 145 bc, this territory was lost for good. The sixth Ptolemy also had intense diplomatic contacts with areas which he never possessed. ‘‘This kind of activity extended the Ptolemaic sphere of influence beyond the area of actual control’’ (Bagnall 1976: 233).
In the second century bc two unfortunate tendencies developed which were linked to dynastic conflicts: appeals by rival kings to the Romans and the abuse of foreign possessions as havens of refuge or as independent kingdoms. The two trends led to the final loss of foreign territories. Ptolemy Apion, illegitimate son of Ptolemy VIII, was responsible for the loss of cyrenaica after he left this kingdom on his death to the Romans (96 bc), and Cyprus came in Roman hands through its last king Ptolemy the Bastard (80-58 bc). Some possessions reverted for a short while to Egyptian control under Kleopatra VII and her brother, and the ambitious queen tried to create a new Hellenistic empire with Roman aid, but she failed, and Egypt, in its turn, passed into Roman hands.
World History
