Macedonian king of Egypt who brought the Ptolemaic dynasty to the height of its power. Though nothing is known about the eldest son of Ptolemy II before he succeeded his father (246 BCE), he wasted little time in extending Alexandria's influence throughout the Near East. His marriage to the daughter of the king of Cyrene [Berenice II] insured Egyptian dominance in eastern north Africa. Then he launched a major assault on Seleucid holdings in Asia Minor, Syria & Mesopotamia to avenge his sister [also named Berenice], who had been repudiated by her husband [Antiochus II] & murdered by his sister [Laodice]. Though a coalition of rivals & troubles at home forced Ptolemy to abandon most of his conquests, he retained control of major centers in Asia Minor [Ephesus], Syria [Antioch] & Europe. After 240 BCE he avoided entanglement in the dynastic & territorial disputes that plagued other Macedonian kingdoms & instead focused his resources on developing Hellenistic cities & shrines in his own territories. The prosperity he fostered for Egypt earned him & his wife the honorific title "the Beneficent." Both were worshipped as living gods.
References: Josephus, Antiquities 12.158.
______, Apion 2.48.
Appian, Roman History: Syrian Wars 11.65.
Polybius, Roman History 2.71; 15.25.
Justin, Epitome 26.3; 27.1-3; 28.4.
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