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78-626: (Redirected from Syrian Conflict ) Syrian War may refer to: Syrian Wars , a series of six wars between 274 BC and 168 BC opposing the Seleucid and Ptolemaic kingdoms Roman–Seleucid War (192–188 BC), also known as the Antiochene War Egyptian–Ottoman War (1831–33) , also known as the First Syrian War Egyptian–Ottoman War (1839–41) , also known as

156-408: A Mediterranean climate of hot, dry summers and relatively mild and rainy winters. The plant communities of this portion of Cyrenaica include forest, woodland, maquis , garrigue , steppe and oak savanna . Garrigue shrublands occupy the non-agricultural portions coastal plain and coastal escarpments, with Sarcopoterium spinosum , along with Asphodelus ramosus and Artemisia herba-alba , as

234-539: A brief civil struggle. Antiochus, angered at his loss of control over the king, invaded again in 168 BC. The Egyptians sent to Rome asking for help and the Senate dispatched Gaius Popilius Laenas to Alexandria. Meanwhile, a Seleucid fleet seized Cyprus , and Antiochus's army took Memphis again. While at Memphis, he even issued an official decree as Egyptian king. The Ptolemaic armies failed to offer any major field battles, instead staying fortified in garrisons. Antiochus

312-600: A depression. This eastern region, known in ancient times as Marmarica , is much drier than the Jebel Akhdar and here the Sahara extends to the coast. Historically, salt-collecting and sponge fishing were more important than agriculture. Bomba and Tobruk have good harbors. South of the coastal highlands of Cyrenaica is a large east–west running depression, extending eastward from the Gulf of Sidra into Egypt. This region of

390-566: A diplomatic coup for Ptolemy VI who saw a competent, ambitious, and hostile Seleucid rival in Demetrius replaced by an opportunist in Balas. Ptolemy VI's daughter Cleopatra Thea married Alexander Balas as a gesture of friendship. However, this peace did not last. Demetrius II, Demetrius I's son, made a play to overthrow Balas, who gained a reputation as a weak ruler (whether deserved or not). The civil war resumed, and Egyptian forces massed on

468-684: A governor holding the modest rank of praeses . Both belonged to the Diocese of the Orient, with its capital at Antioch in Syria, and from 370, to the Diocese of Egypt , within the Praetorian prefecture of Oriens . Its western neighbor Tripolitania , the largest split-off from Africa proconsularis, became part of the Diocese of Africa , subordinate to the prefecture of Italia et Africa . Following

546-540: A major Archiepiscopal Metropolis in the days of Pope John VI of Alexandria , it was held as a Titular See attached to another Diocese. After being repeatedly destroyed and restored during the Roman period Pentapolis became a mere borough, but was nevertheless the site of a diocese. Its bishop, Zopyrus , was present at the First Council of Nicaea in 325. The subscriptions at Ephesus (431) and Chalcedon (451) give

624-628: A mass of Miocene limestone that tilts up steeply from the Mediterranean Sea and falls inland with a gradual descent to sea level again. This mass is divided into two blocks. The Jebel Akhdar extends parallel to the coast from the Gulf of Sidra to the Gulf of Bomba and reaches an elevation of 882 meters. There is no continuous coastal plain, the longest strip running from the recess of Gulf of Sidra past Benghazi to Tolmeita . Thereafter, except for deltaic patches at Susa and Derna ,

702-563: A military rebellion at Tobruk in 1980. In 2007, the Green Mountain Conservation and Development Authority, headed by Saif al-Islam Gaddafi , announced a regional plan for Cyrenaica, developed by the firm Foster and Partners . The plan, known as The Cyrene Declaration, aimed to revive Cyrenaica's agriculture, create a national park and develop the region as a cultural and eco-tourism destination. The announced pilot projects included plans for three hotels, including

780-557: A quick and disadvantageous conclusion. The nativist movement, which began before the war with the Egyptian Revolt and expanded with the support of Egyptian priests, created turmoil and sedition throughout the kingdom. Economic troubles led the Ptolemaic government to increase taxation, which in turn fed the nationalist fire. In order to focus on the home front, Ptolemy signed a conciliatory treaty with Antiochus in 195 BC, leaving

858-528: A result of the migration by Arab tribes, Cyrenaica became more Arab than any place in the Arab world except for the interior of Arabia . The Ayyubid emir Qaraqush marched into the Maghreb and according to al-Maqrizi had taken control of Cyrenaica on orders of Saladin who wanted to use the province as an agricultural base. The Mamluks were seemingly unable to exert any significant control and had to ally with

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936-775: A second invasion of Coele-Syria. He convinced Philip V of Macedon to join the war and conquer the Ptolemies' territories in Asia Minor – actions which led to the Second Macedonian War between Macedon and the Romans. Antiochus quickly swept through the region. After a brief setback at Gaza , he delivered a crushing blow to the Ptolemies at the Battle of Panium near the head of the River Jordan which earned him

1014-430: A siege. The Egyptians suffered internal unrest over the poor progress of the war: Eulaeus and Lenaeus were overthrown and replaced by two new regents, Comanus and Cineas. Envoys were sent to negotiate a peace treaty. Antiochus took Ptolemy VI (who was his nephew) under his guardianship, perhaps with the intent of making Egypt a client state subordinate to Seleucid power. Archaeological records show that even Thebes in

1092-435: A special governor styled praefectus augustalis ) in 30 BC. Diocletian 's Tetrarchy reforms of 293 altered Cyrenaica's administrative structure. It was split into two provinces: Libya Superior or Libya Pentapolis , comprising the above-mentioned Pentapolis, with Cyrene as its capital, and Libya Inferior or Libya Sicca , comprising Marmarica, with the important port city of Paraetonium as its capital. Each came under

1170-617: A vast misunderstanding of how easy it would be to win such a war. Antiochus IV had gotten word of Egyptian preparations for war and was in Tyre in July and August 170 BC preparing his forces, and reached the important strategic town of Pelusium in November 170 BC. Just as the Ptolemaic army moved out of Pelusium to begin its invasion of Coele-Syria, the Seleucids defeated the Ptolemaic army in

1248-480: A year, consolidating his new territories and listening to diplomatic proposals from the Ptolemaic kingdom. Meanwhile, Ptolemy's minister Sosibius began recruiting and training an army. He recruited not only from the local Greek population, as Hellenistic armies generally were, but also from the native Egyptians, enrolling at least thirty thousand natives as phalangites . This innovation paid off, but it would eventually have dire consequences for Ptolemaic stability. In

1326-742: The Crete earthquake of 365 , the capital was moved to Ptolemais . After the Empire's division, Cyrenaica became part of the East Roman Empire ( Byzantine Empire ), bordering Tripolitania. It was briefly part of the Vandal Kingdom to the west, until its reconquest by Belisarius in 533. The Tabula Peutingeriana shows Pentapolites to the east of Syrtes Maiores , indicating the cities of Bernice, Hadrianopolis, Taucheira, Ptolomaide, Callis, Cenopolis, Balacris and Cyrene. According to

1404-703: The Kingdom of Libya was established and granted independence. In 1949, Idris al-Senussi, with British backing, proclaimed the independent Emirate of Cyrenaica . This emirate became part of the Kingdom of Libya when it was established, and an independent kingdom on 24 December 1951, with Idris al-Senussi becoming King Idris. Since 1 September 1969, when the Senussi dynasty was overthrown by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi , Cyrenaica occasionally experienced nationalist activity against Gaddafi's military dictatorship , including

1482-786: The Marble Arch as a form of an imperial triumphal arch at the border between Cyrenaica and Tripolitani near the coast. There was heavy fighting in Cyrenaica during World War II on the part of the Allies against the Italian Army and the Nazi German Afrika Korps . In late 1942, Allied forces liberated Cyrenaica from Axis occupation and the United Kingdom administered most of Libya through 1951, when

1560-504: The Roman Republic . The Latin name Cyrenaica (or Kyrenika ) dates to the first century BC. Although some confusion exists as to the exact territory Rome inherited, by 78 BC it was organized as one administrative province together with Crete . It became a senatorial province in 20 BC, like its far more prominent western neighbor Africa proconsularis , and unlike Egypt itself, which became an imperial domain sui generis (under

1638-793: The Synoptic Gospels , Simon of Cyrene carried the cross of Jesus Christ to the crucifixion. According to one tradition, Mark the Evangelist was born in the Pentapolis, and later returned after preaching with Paul the Apostle in Colosse (Col 4:10) and Rome (Phil 24; 2 Tim 4:11); from Pentapolis he made his way to Alexandria . Early Christianity spread to Pentapolis from Egypt; Synesius of Cyrene (370–414), bishop of Ptolemais , received his instruction at Alexandria in both

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1716-622: The administrative divisions of Libya , since 1995. The 2011 Libyan Civil War started in Cyrenaica, which came largely under the control of the National Transitional Council (headquartered in Benghazi ) for most of the war. In 2012, a body known as the Cyrenaica Transitional Council unilaterally declared Cyrenaica to be an autonomous region of Libya. Geologically, Cyrenaica rests on

1794-665: The Aegean. With Macedon's support, Antiochus II launched an attack on Ptolemaic outposts in Asia. Most of the information about the Second Syrian War has been lost. It is clear that Antigonus' fleet defeated Ptolemy's at the Battle of Cos in 261 BC, diminishing Ptolemaic naval power. Ptolemy appears to have lost ground in Cilicia, Pamphylia , and Ionia , while Antiochus regained Miletus and Ephesus . Macedon's involvement in

1872-578: The Catechetical School and the Mouseion , and he entertained a great deal of reverence and affection for Hypatia , the last pagan Neoplatonist , whose classes he had attended. Synesius was raised to the episcopate by Theophilus , patriarch of Alexandria, in 410. Since the First Council of Nicaea in 325, Cyrenaica had been recognized as an ecclesiastical province of the See of Alexandria , per

1950-521: The Cyrene Grand Hotel near the ruins of Cyrene. For much of the Libyan civil war , Cyrenaica was largely under the control of the National Transitional Council while Tripolitania and Fezzan remained under Gaddafi's government control. Some proposed a "two-state solution" to the conflict, with Cyrenaica becoming an independent state, but this concept was strongly rejected by both sides, and

2028-884: The Fatimids to the Zirids . In the middle of the 11th century, several Arab tribes, including the Bedouin Banu Hilal confederation devastated the North African coast under Zirid control. Barqa was ravaged by the Hilalian invasion and left to be settled by the Banu Sulaym while the Banu Hilal marched westwards. The invasion contributed to the decline of the port cities and maritime trade. Up to 200,000 Hilalian families migrated into Cyrenaica from Egypt. As

2106-464: The Ptolemies were greatly weakened by the war as well as the conflict between Ptolemy VI and VIII. A rebel named Dionysus Petrosarapis would attempt to exploit the animosity between the two Ptolemy brothers and start a series of revolts from 168–164 BC. While not usually classed as the "Seventh Syrian War", the Ptolemies and a portion of the Seleucids would clash again in 145 BC. The Seleucid Empire began to fall to internal disorder in 152 BC as

2184-406: The Romans and Pergamese , seeking to destabilize and weaken Syria, encouraged Alexander Balas to make a hostile claim on the throne against King Demetrius I Soter . Alexander's allies funded him and hired mercenaries on his behalf, and he was able to gain the loyalty of those of Syria who disliked Demetrius, such as Jewish military leader Jonathan Apphus . Alexander eventually won the civil war,

2262-744: The Sahara is known as the Libyan Desert , and includes the Great Sand Sea and the Calanshio Sand Sea . The Libyan Desert is home to a few oases , including Awjila and Jaghbub . The Berbers were the earliest recorded inhabitants of Cyrenaica. Egyptian records mention that during the New Kingdom of Egypt (thirteenth century BC), the Libu and Meshwesh tribes of Cyrenaica made frequent incursions into Egypt. Cyrenaica

2340-559: The Second Syrian War Franco-Syrian War (1920) Syria–Lebanon Campaign (1941) Syrian civil war (2011–present), an ongoing war in Syria See also [ edit ] List of wars involving Syria Syrian Revolution (disambiguation) Syrian coup d'état (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with

2418-639: The Seleucid Empire. Seleucus, who had been aided by Ptolemy during his ascent to power, did not take any military action to reclaim the region. Once both were dead, however, their successors became embroiled in war. A decade into his rule, Ptolemy II faced Antiochus I , the Seleucid king who was trying to expand his empire's holdings in Syria and Anatolia . Ptolemy proved to be a forceful ruler and skilled general. In addition, his recent marriage to his court-wise sister Arsinoe II of Egypt had stabilized

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2496-604: The Seleucid king in possession of Coele-Syria and agreeing to marry Antiochus' daughter Cleopatra I . The Seleucids had little desire to entangle themselves in a new war with the Ptolemies. After losing the Roman-Seleucid War , they were forced to pay a huge indemnity that the Roman Republic imposed on them at the Treaty of Apamea in 188 BC. They already controlled Coele-Syria, and were busy with fending off

2574-510: The Seleucids. Antiochus begged to have time to consider but Popilius drew a circle round him in the sand with his cane and told him to decide before he stepped outside it. Antiochus chose to obey the Roman ultimatum to avoid a new Roman–Seleucid War , a retreat that Polybius described as personally humiliating for Antiochus. The "Day of Eleusis" ended the Sixth Syrian War and Antiochus' hopes of conquering Egyptian territory. Still,

2652-517: The Sinai desert, perhaps due to Egyptian surprise at the Seleucids being ready to fight immediately. Ptolemaic losses mounted as they retreated to Pelusium, but Pelusium quickly fell with little loss of life and a surrender of the Ptolemaic army. Pelusium was the gateway to the rest of Egypt; with it under control, Seleucid supply lines were secure, and Egypt was in grave danger. Antiochus took Naucratis and camped near Alexandria, potentially threatening

2730-519: The Wars of the Diadochi following Alexander's death, Coele-Syria initially came under the rule of Antigonus I Monophthalmus . In 301 BC Ptolemy I Soter , who four years earlier had crowned himself King of Egypt, exploited events surrounding the Battle of Ipsus to take control of the region. The victors at Ipsus, however, had allocated Coele-Syria to Ptolemy's former ally Seleucus I Nicator , founder of

2808-646: The absolute influence of imperial courtiers. His ministers used their absolute power in their own self-interest, to the people's great chagrin. Antiochus sought to take advantage of this chaotic situation. After an invasion in 221 BC failed to launch, he finally began the Fourth Syrian War in 219 BC. He recaptured Seleucia Pieria as well as cities in Phoenicia , amongst them Tyre . Rather than promptly invading Egypt, Antiochus waited in Phoenicia for over

2886-558: The area came to be known as Barqa , after the city of Barca . Cyrenaica became an Italian colony in 1911 . After the 1934 formation of Italian Libya , the Cyrenaica province was designated as one of the three primary provinces of the country . During World War II, it fell under British military and civil administration from 1943 until 1951, and finally in the Kingdom of Libya from 1951 until 1963. The region that used to be Cyrenaica officially until 1963 has formed several shabiyat ,

2964-618: The border around 147 BC, ready to intervene in the Seleucid civil war. With Alexander's permission, they occupied much of coastal Coele-Syria, with the cooperation of Alexander's Jewish allies who expanded and took over more of the Judean hills and interior. As Ptolemy VI marched north, he switched sides and demanded his son-in-law hand over his chief minister on likely faked charges. Presumably Demetrius II had offered to legitimize Ptolemaic rule of Coele-Syria if he switched to aiding his faction. Ptolemy VI now marched on Antioch; Alexander abandoned

3042-579: The city of Cyrene ), is the eastern region of Libya . Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between the 16th and 25th meridians east, including the Kufra District . The coastal region, also known as Pentapolis ("Five Cities") in antiquity , was part of the Roman province of Crete and Cyrenaica , later divided into Libya Pentapolis and Libya Sicca . During the Islamic period,

3120-557: The city, apparently disliking his chances in a siege. Ptolemy VI now ruled from Syria itself, with Demetrius II as a puppet; Cleopatra Thea was remarried to the new king. Alexander Balas's loyalists harassed the countryside outside of Antioch. Eventually, Ptolemy VI rallied his forces and the Ptolemaic-Demetrius II coalition went to meet him at a nearby river. The Battle of the Oenoparus resulted. Alexander's army

3198-546: The flocks and herds of the local Bedouins . Historically large areas of range were covered in forest. The forested area of the Jebel Akhdar has been shrinking in recent decades. A 1996 report to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimated that the forested area was reduced to 320,000 hectares from 500,000 hectares, mostly cleared to grow crops. The Green Mountain Conservation and Development Authority estimates that

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3276-547: The forested area decreased from 500,000 hectares in 1976 to 180,000 hectares in 2007. The southward slopes of the Jebel Akhdar are occupied by the Mediterranean dry woodlands and steppe , a transitional ecoregion lying between the Mediterranean climate regions of North Africa and the hyper-arid Sahara . The lower Jebel el-Akabah lies to the south and east of the Jebel Akhdar. The two highlands are separated by

3354-421: The greatest intellectual and artistic centers of the Greek world, famous for its medical school, learned academies and architecture, which included some of the finest examples of the Hellenistic style . The Cyrenaics , a school of thinkers who expounded a doctrine of moral cheerfulness that defined happiness as the sum of human pleasures, were founded by Aristippus of Cyrene. Other notable natives of Cyrene were

3432-542: The important port of Sidon . In 200 BC, Roman emissaries came to Philip and Antiochus demanding that they refrain from invading Egypt. The Romans would suffer no disruption of the import of grain from Egypt, key to supporting the massive population in Italy. As neither monarch had planned to invade Egypt itself, they willingly complied to Rome's demands. Antiochus completed the subjugation of Coele-Syria in 198 BC and went on to raid Ptolemy's remaining coastal strongholds in Caria and Cilicia. Problems at home led Ptolemy to seek

3510-680: The mercenary general responsible for defeating a Roman army at Tunis/Bagrades in 255 BC). He won major victories over Seleucus in Syria and Anatolia, briefly occupied Antioch and, as a recent cuneiform discovery proves, even reached Babylon . These victories were marred by the loss of the Cyclades to Antigonus Gonatas in the Battle of Andros . Seleucus had his own difficulties. His domineering mother asked him to grant co-regency to his younger brother, Antiochus Hierax , as well as rule over Seleucid territories in Anatolia. Antiochus promptly declared independence, undermining Seleucus' efforts to defend against Ptolemy. In exchange for peace in 241 BC, Ptolemy

3588-404: The military and judicial affairs. The bureaucratic setup was similar to the one in Tripoli. The mutasarrifate existed until the Italian invasion. The Italians occupied Cyrenaica during the Italo-Turkish War in 1911 and declared it an Italian protectorate on 15 October 1912. Three days later, the Ottoman Empire officially ceded the province to the Kingdom of Italy . On 17 May 1919, Cyrenaica

3666-412: The murder of the dead king's wife and sister Arsinoë by the ministers Agothocles and Sosibius. The fate of Sosibius is unclear, but Agothocles seems to have held the regency for some time until he was lynched by the volatile Alexandrian mob. The regency was passed from one adviser to another, and the kingdom was in a state of near anarchy. Seeking to take advantage of this turmoil, Antiochus III staged

3744-406: The names of two other bishops, Zenobius and Theodorus. Although it retained the title "Pentapolis", the ecclesiastic province actually included all of the Cyrenaica, not just the five cities. Pentapolis is still included in the title of Popes of the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria . Cyrenaica was conquered by Muslim Arabs under command of Amr ibn al-As during

3822-399: The native Egyptians who had fought at Raphia. Confident and well-trained, they broke from Ptolemy in what is known as the Egyptian Revolt , establishing their own kingdom in Upper Egypt which the Ptolemies finally reconquered around 185 BC. The death of Ptolemy IV in 204 BC was followed by a bloody conflict over the regency as his heir, Ptolemy V , was just a child. The conflict began with

3900-438: The north, and Syria in the south. By 221 BC, he had re-established Seleucid control over Media and Persia, which had been in rebellion. The ambitious king turned his eyes toward Syria and Egypt. Egypt had been significantly weakened by court intrigue and public unrest. The rule of the newly inaugurated Ptolemy IV Philopator (reigned 221–204 BC) began with the murder of queen-mother Berenice II . The young king quickly fell under

3978-493: The other a mixed maquis in which the endemic Arbutus pavarii is prominent, and forests of Cupressus sempervirens , Juniperus phoenicea, Olea europaea , Quercus coccifera, Ceratonia siliqua, and Pinus halepensis . Areas of red soil are found on the Marj Plain, which has borne abundant crops of wheat and barley from ancient times to the present day. Plenty of springs issue on the highlands. Wild olive trees are abundant, and large areas of oak savanna provide pasture to

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4056-512: The paranoid atmosphere of the era, many assumed he had been poisoned, perhaps by courtiers who wished to keep the peace and avoid taxes or levies to finance a war, or because they preferred a young king and regent who would be easier to manipulate. Cleopatra, the regent, favored the peace faction at court, whether because she agreed a war made no sense, or because of lingering loyalties to the Seleucid royal family she descended from. Cleopatra I died in 176 BC, but her eldest son Ptolemy VI Philometor

4134-442: The poet Callimachus and the mathematicians Theodorus and Eratosthenes . In 525 BC, after conquering Egypt, the Achaemenid (Persian) army of Cambyses II seized the Pentapolis, and established a satrapy (Achaemenid Persian province) over parts of the region for about the next two centuries. The Persians were followed by Alexander the Great in 332 BC, who received tribute from the cities after taking Egypt. The Pentapolis

4212-403: The predominant species. Small areas of maquis are found on north-facing slopes near the sea, becoming more extensive on the lower plateau. Juniperus phoenicea , Pistacia lentiscus , Quercus coccifera and Ceratonia siliqua are common tree and large shrub species in the maquis. The upper plateau includes areas of garrigue, two maquis communities, one dominated by Pistacia lentiscus and

4290-400: The province, with no major population centers, was called Marmarica ; the more important western portion was known as the Pentapolis, as it comprised five cities: Cyrene (near the modern village of Shahat) with its port of Apollonia (Marsa Susa), Arsinoe or Taucheira (Tocra), Euesperides or Berenice (near modern Benghazi ), Balagrae ( Bayda ) and Barce ( Marj ) – of which the chief

4368-489: The resident Bedouins to accept their suzerainty indirectly while paying taxes. The Ottoman Empire later claimed suzerainty of Cyrenaica based on the Mamluk claim of suzerainty through alliance with the tribes. Cyrenaica was subsumed into Ottoman Libya . In 1879, Cyrenaica became a wilayah of the Ottoman Empire. In 1888, it became a mutasarrıfiyya under a mutasarrif and was further divided into five qadaas. The wali of Ottoman Tripolitania , however, looked after

4446-417: The rising Parthian Empire in the East. Internal dissent and rebellions weakened the Ptolemies over time. In particular, the power of the monarchy waned, and the influence of aristocrats of high standing in Alexandria grew, as did the power of Egyptian nativist movements. Ptolemy V seemed to possibly be intending to raise funds to finance an attempt to reclaim Coele-Syria, but died unexpectedly in 180 BC; in

4524-454: The ruling of the Nicaean Fathers. The patriarch of the Coptic Church to this day includes the Pentapolis in his title as an area within his jurisdiction. The Eparchy of the Western Pentapolis was part of the Coptic Orthodox Church , as the Pope of Alexandria was the Pope of Africa. The most senior position in The Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church after the Pope was the Metropolitan of Western Pentapolis, although, since its demise as

4602-450: The same year. Also known as the Laodicean War, the Third Syrian War began with one of the many succession crises that plagued the Hellenistic states. Antiochus II left two ambitious mothers, his repudiated wife Laodice and Ptolemy II's daughter Berenice Syra , in a competition to put their respective sons on the throne. Laodice claimed that Antiochus had named her son heir while on his deathbed, but Berenice argued that her newly born son

4680-418: The shore is all precipitous. A steep escarpment separates the coastal plain from a relatively level plateau, known as the Marj Plain, which lies at about 300 meters elevation. Above the Marj Plain lies a dissected plateau at about 700 meters elevation, which contains the highest peaks in the range. The Jebel Akhdar and its adjacent coast are part of the Mediterranean woodlands and forests ecoregion and have

4758-587: The southern part of Egypt were occupied by a foreign army (surely the Seleucids) in October 169 BC. However, this occupation was unacceptable to the people of Alexandria who responded by proclaiming Ptolemy Physcon as sole king. Antiochus besieged Alexandria but he was unable to cut communications to the city so, in late autumn of 169, he withdrew his army, leaving Ptolemy VI as a rival king in Memphis. Antiochus possibly withdrew to deal with problems in Phoenicia at home. In Antiochus's absence, Ptolemy VI and his brother Ptolemy Physcon were reconciled, possibly after

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4836-503: The summer of 217 BC, Ptolemy engaged and defeated the long-delayed Antiochus in the Battle of Raphia , the largest battle since the Battle of Ipsus over eighty years earlier. Ptolemy's victory preserved his control over Coele-Syria, and the weak king declined to advance further into Antiochus' empire, even to retake Seleucia Pieria. The Ptolemaic kingdom would continue to weaken over the following years, suffering from economic problems and rebellion. Nationalist sentiment had developed among

4914-482: The tenure of the second caliph, Omar , in c.  642 , and became known as Barqah after its provincial capital, the ancient city of Barce . After the breakdown of the Ummayad caliphate it was essentially annexed to Egypt, although still under the same name, first under the Fatimid caliphs. The region became a base for piracy, and many of the pirates acted as privateers for the Fatimids. Around 1051/52, Jabbara, emir of Barqa, transferred his allegiance from

4992-405: The three siblings ranged from 10 to 16 years of age. While the causes are still not entirely clear, Ptolemaic regents Eulaeus and Lenaeus seem to have instigated the formal declaration of war on Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes . This was possibly out of a desire to find a unifying issue to rally the state around, possibly due to political gains in the pro-war faction, and likely influenced by

5070-453: The title Syrian War . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Syrian_War&oldid=1180470874 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Syrian Wars In

5148-541: The volatile Egyptian court, allowing Ptolemy to successfully carry out the campaign. The First Syrian War was a major victory for the Ptolemies. Antiochus took the Ptolemaic controlled areas in coastal Syria and southern Anatolia in his initial rush. Ptolemy reconquered these territories by 271 BC, extending Ptolemaic rule as far as Caria and into most of Cilicia . With Ptolemy's eye focused eastward, his half-brother Magas declared his province of Cyrenaica to be independent. It would remain independent until 250 BC, when it

5226-512: The war ceased when Antigonus became preoccupied by the rebellion of Corinth and Chalcis in 253 BC, possibly instigated by Ptolemy, as well as an increase in enemy activity along Macedon's northern frontier. The war was concluded around 253 BC with the marriage of Antiochus to Ptolemy's daughter, Berenice Syra . Antiochus repudiated his previous wife, Laodice , and turned over substantial domain to her. He died in Ephesus in 246 BC, poisoned by Laodice according to some sources. Ptolemy II died in

5304-484: Was colonized by the Greeks beginning in the seventh century BC, when it was known as Kyrenaïka . The first and most important colony was that of Cyrene , established in about 631 BC by colonists from the Greek island of Thera , which they had abandoned because of a severe famine. Their commander, Aristoteles, took the Libyan name Battos. His descendants, known as the Battiadae , persisted despite severe conflict with Greeks in neighboring cities. The eastern portion of

5382-418: Was awarded new territories on the northern coast of Syria, including Seleucia Pieria , the port of Antioch. The Ptolemaic kingdom was at the height of its power. Upon taking the Seleucid throne in 223 BC, Antiochus III the Great (241–187 BC) set himself the task of restoring the lost imperial possessions of Seleucus I Nicator , which extended from the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom in the east, the Hellespont in

5460-408: Was declared a co-ruler. The causes of the new conflict are obscure. Relations declined between the two powers, with both sending emissaries to Rome (then bogged down in the Third Macedonian War ) asking for military support against the other before the war even started. In 170 BC, Ptolemy's younger sibling Ptolemy VIII Physcon was declared a co-ruler as well in order to bolster the unity of Egypt;

5538-665: Was defeated, and he was forced to flee to his Nabatean (Arab) allies, where he was murdered by two of his own men. Ptolemy VI died of wounds. The unexpected winner was thus Demetrius II who, with the Ptolemaic king dead and the Seleucids briefly unified, turned on his former Egyptian allies and was able to banish the Ptolemaic occupation force out of Coele-Syria. Cyrenaica Cyrenaica ( / ˌ s aɪ r ə ˈ n eɪ . ɪ k ə ˌ ˌ s ɪr -/ SY -rə- NAY -ik-ə-,- SIRR -ə ) or Kyrenaika ( Arabic : برقة , romanized :  Barqah , Koinē Greek : Κυρηναϊκή [ἐπαρχία] , romanized:  Kūrēnaïkḗ [eparkhíā] , after

5616-522: Was established as an Italian colony , and, on 25 October 1920, the Italian government recognized Sheikh Sidi Idriss as the leader of the Senussi , who was granted the princely rank of emir until 1929. In that year, Italy withdrew recognition of him and the Senussi. On 1 January 1934, Tripolitania , Cyrenaica, and Fezzan were united as the Italian colony of Libya . The Italian fascists constructed

5694-544: Was formally annexed by Ptolemy I Soter , and through him passed to the diadoch dynasty of the Lagids, better known as the Ptolemaic dynasty . It briefly gained independence under Magas of Cyrene , stepson of Ptolemy I, but was reabsorbed into the Ptolemaic empire after his death. It was separated from the main kingdom by Ptolemy VIII and given to his son Ptolemy Apion , who, dying without heirs in 96 BC, bequeathed it to

5772-647: Was now prepared to march on the capital of Alexandria again. At Eleusis, on the outskirts of Alexandria, he met Popilius Laenas, with whom he had been friends during his stay in Rome. But instead of a friendly welcome, Popilius offered the king an ultimatum from the Roman Senate: he must evacuate Egypt and Cyprus immediately. Rome had only just recently defeated the Macedonians at the Battle of Pydna , potentially freeing up armies with which it could credibly threaten

5850-554: Was reabsorbed into the Ptolemaic Kingdom: but not before having triggered a sequence of Ptolemaic and Seleucid court intrigues, war and ultimately leading to the marriage of Theos and Berenice . Antiochus II succeeded his father in 261 BC, and thus began a new war for Syria. He reached an agreement with the current Antigonid king in Macedon , Antigonus II Gonatas , who was also interested in pushing Ptolemy II out of

5928-421: Was still only 10 years old, necessitating a continued regency. Eulaeus and Lenaeus, a eunuch and a slave, became the two regents of the young king of Egypt, likely as a compromise between the relevant Egyptian factions who could not bear to see a rival on the throne who might have the backing and lineage to claim it themselves. Under the regents, the young Ptolemy VI was married to his sister Cleopatra II and she

6006-483: Was the eponymous Cyrene. The term "Pentapolis" continued to be used as a synonym for Cyrenaica. In the south, the Pentapolis faded into the Saharan tribal areas, including the pharaonic oracle of Ammonium . The region produced barley, wheat, olive oil, wine, figs, apples, wool, sheep, cattle and silphium , a herb that grew only in Cyrenaica and was regarded as a medicinal cure and aphrodisiac . Cyrene became one of

6084-430: Was the legitimate heir. Berenice asked her brother Ptolemy III , the new Ptolemaic king, to come to Antioch and help place her son on the throne. When Ptolemy arrived, Berenice and her child had been assassinated. Ptolemy declared war on Laodice's newly crowned son, Seleucus II , in 246 BC, and campaigned with great success (his forces possibly being commanded by Xanthippus of Lacedaemon , aka Xanthippus of Carthage ,

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