Fourth Syrian War

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The Fourth Syrian War was the fourth military conflict between Ptolemaic Egypt and the Seleucid Empire . Its hot phase began in 219 BC. And it ended with a peace treaty two years later.

prehistory

In both realms there had been a change of government: The Seleucid Antiochus III. was 223 BC Came to power, the Egyptian Ptolemy IV. 221 BC. BC, both were about 20 years old. The ambitious Antiochus III. had set himself the goal of restoring the empire of his fathers to the former extent, for which he had initially planned the enforcement of supposed legal claims against the Ptolemaic empire - and with which he in the summer of 221 BC. BC, shortly after the change of throne in Egypt began.

The Seleucid army marched into the Bekaa plain , but encountered prepared Egyptian troops under their commander-in-chief, Theodotos , who had already had a locking bar built against which all attempts by the Seleucids to break through failed. A renegade satrap in his own territory then caused Antiochus to break off the attempt first.

Course of war

The Fourth Syrian War actually broke out when Antiochus resolved the internal problem. In the spring of 219 BC With the help of betrayal, he succeeded in getting Seleukia Pieria , the port city belonging to Antioch on the Orontes, ruled by the Ptolemies for 27 years . At the same time he received unexpected support from the aforementioned Theodotos, who reacted to an intrigue directed against him at the court in Alexandria by defection to Antiochus and handing over the Syrian border province under his control at the same time. Antiochus took the opportunity and marched south with his army, Tire and Ptolemais ( Akko ) opened their gates, forty Egyptian warships were incorporated into the Seleucid fleet.

The defensive measures that were now under way in Alexandria prompted Antiochus to be content with securing his rule in Palestine , especially since he was not received as happily as he might have hoped. At the end of 219 a four-month truce was signed.

The diplomatic negotiations that took place during the armistice had the sole aim of the Egyptian side to buy time to complete their own armament efforts, which included a far-reaching military reform. Antiochus does not seem to have noticed what was actually going on on the other side.

The war year 218 BC BC recorded activity almost exclusively on the Seleucid side and in Syria, where the Egyptian associations, which had been overrun by Antiochus' advance a year ago, continued to offer slow resistance.

Only in the year 217 BC The decision was made after the Egyptian armaments measures had reached their goal. Ptolemy IV marched north from Pelusium , Antiochus was heading south. Both armies met near Gaza on June 18, 217 BC. In the battle of Raphia each other. The Egyptians won the day, Antiochus gave up and returned to Antioch. Ptolemy restored his order in Syria, but then had the peace negotiations in Antioch (which he endeavored to advance through raids into the Seleucid border area) merely safeguard the previously existing treaty. Only the city of Seleukeia was returned to Antiochus, because Egypt had come to the conclusion that it would only be possible to keep it with a disproportionate amount of effort.

literature

  • Günther Hölbl : History of the Ptolemaic Empire. Politics, Ideology and Religious Culture from Alexander the Great to the Roman Conquest . Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1994, ISBN 3-534-10422-6 , pp. 113-116.