Ptolemy Mennaei

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Ptolemy, son of Mennaios ( Greek  Πτολεμαῖος ), in the literature often in the Latinized form Ptolemy Mennaei (* before 100 BC (?); † 40 BC ) was a Hellenistic ruler in the ancient Middle East who led to the During the time of the Roman dictator Gaius Iulius Caesar and during the first years of his nephew Octavian's political activity, he ruled the principality of Chalkis in what is now Lebanon . He was the father of Lysanias of Chalcis.

origin

Ptolemy came from a family that had ruled the Bekaa plain in Lebanon and the landscape known as Iturea on the eastern slope of Antilebanon for a long time . No details are known about his father Mennaios. It is unclear whether the family came to the country in the wake of the conquests of Alexander the Great or had Semitic-Aramaic roots. The historian Polybios mentions a Mennaios who already exercised political functions in Lebanon a century and a half earlier, possibly one of the ancestors of Ptolemy, son of Mennaios. The sons of Ptolemy mentioned by Flavius ​​Josephus were Philippion and Lysanias.

The Principality of Chalkis in Lebanon

The dominion of Ptolemy, Ituräa with the capital Chalkis (today: Qinnesrin), was northwest of Damascus in the Lebanon Mountains (today partly on Lebanese, partly on Syrian territory). During the time of Caesar and Octavian, the rulers of Chalkis played a minor role in the struggle for supremacy in the Middle East. Coin finds testify to their government activities.

Politics at the intersection of the great powers

The entire region lay at the intersection of various power interests: while the great powers Rome and Parthia vied for supremacy after the collapse of the Seleucid Kingdom, the efforts of local powers to increase power on the one hand and maximum independence from the great powers on the other continued. Since the reestablishment of an independent Jewish kingdom under the Hasmoneans, the surrounding Greek city-states and city federations in the region have been subject to an extensive Jewish claim to power, which - as the Jewish historian Flavius ​​Josephus reports - was partly accompanied by imperialist Judaization efforts and only through the advance of the Romans and the conquest of the Middle East by Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus in 66 BC Was stopped.

The political goals of the Mennaids

In this situation, the Mennaid dynasty in Iturea tried to expand its regional position of power and at the same time to secure it through tactical alliances with other regional powers, including the Jewish royal family.

When the Jewish prince Aristobulus , who was supported by the Roman general Gaius Julius Caesar, 49 BC. Was poisoned by Pompey supporters, Ptolemaeus Mennaei offered the widow of Aristobulus, who had fled into exile in Ascalon, asylum for the children of the murdered, Antigonus II (Matthathias), the daughter Alexandra and another son (name unknown) in his principality . His son Philippion, who traveled to Ascalon and escorted the siblings (probably with military cover), fell in love with the Hasmonean princess Alexandra and married her. According to the Jewish historian Flavius ​​Josephus, Ptolemy later killed his own son in order to be able to marry the Jewish princess Alexandra himself.

In the following years the Hasmonean prince Antigonos II (Matthatias) was under the protection of Ptolemy Mennaios and is likely to have stayed with him in Iturea. He must also have become acquainted with his son Lysanias. Ptolemaeus Mennaei actively supported his Jewish brother-in-law Antigonus in the dispute in the Hasmonean royal house between the Roman-friendly Johannes Hyrcanus and Antigonus II. Matthathias, the brother of his wife Alexandra, who was intent on maintaining Jewish independence. As Flavius ​​Josephus reports, he went with him from Syria “to Judaea”. Fabius, the Roman commander in Damascus, who had been bribed by Antigonos Mattathias, kept quiet. Marion, the tyrant of Tire , who had been installed by the Roman general Cassius , supported Antigonus Matthathias and Ptolemaios Mennaios.

Death of Ptolemy

It turned out, however, that the strength of the small dynasties was insufficient to hold out for long in the game of the great powers. According to Flavius ​​Josephus, Ptolemaeus Mennaei died at the beginning of 40 BC. BC, apparently a natural death. He did not see how the Parthians swept aside Roman rule when they invaded Syria and Palestine and put his brother-in-law Antigonos Matthathias on the Jewish throne in Jerusalem . This triumph was short-lived, however, because the Roman reaction came quickly: as early as 39 BC. The Parthians were expelled from Palestine and Syria again by the Roman general Ventidius and a "homo novus", the previous governor of Galilee , Herod , was able to gradually assert himself as the rival king with Roman support. After prolonged fighting and a siege in Jerusalem, Antigonus Matthathias had to be forced into 37 BC. Give up. He was brought to Antioch by the Romans and executed there.

Despite this entanglement of the Mennaeids in a party-friendly policy, the Roman triumvir Mark Antony had initially confirmed the rulership rights of the son of Ptolemaeus Mennaei, Lysanias, whom he appointed ruler of Iturea with a royal title. Later, after Antony had had a relationship with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra , she accused Lysanias of having supported the Parthian king's son Pakoros († 38 BC) in his offensive against Asia Minor and Syria, whereupon Lysanias on Antony's orders in 36 v. Was executed. The territory of Lysanias was transferred from Antony to Cleopatra. Cleopatra gave her assigned share of Iturea to the tetrarch and priest Zenodorus , who possibly also belonged to the Iturean ruling family.

literature

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Polybios: Histories 5,71.
  2. ↑ Flavius ​​Josephus: Antiquitates Iudaicae 14, 7, 4 and 14, 13, 3 and 15, 4, 1; Bellum Iudaicum 1, 9, 2 and 1, 13, 1 and 20, 4.
  3. ^ Josephus, Antiquitates 13, 15, 4.
  4. ↑ a b Josephus, Antiquitates 14, 7, 4.
  5. ^ Josephus, Antiquitates 14, 12, 1.
  6. ^ Josephus, Antiquitates 15, 1, 2.
  7. ↑ Cassius Dio 49, 32, 5; see. Josephus, Antiquitates 15, 4, 1 (§ 92).
  8. ^ Josephus, Antiquitates 15, 10, 1.
  9. ↑ Cf. Günther: Herodes the Great . Darmstadt 2005, p. 128.
personal data
SURNAME Ptolemy Mennaei
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ptolemy Mennaios
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Ruler of the Principality of Chalkis
DATE OF BIRTH around 100 BC Chr.
PLACE OF BIRTH Chalkis
DATE OF DEATH 40 BC Chr.