of Ptolemy, and had refused to Antigonus the use of their shipping in his Egyptian expedition. To punish this refusal he made war upon them, 304 B. C., but they were so well supported by Ptolemy, that Antigonus was forced to relinquish his demand that they should aid him against the Egyptians as against his other enemies. The Rhodians, therefore, gave to Ptolemy the title of Ewryp, ordered divine worship to be paid him, and erected the Ptolemæum in honour of their deliverer.*

During this time Seleucus had established himself in the possession of Babylonia, Assyria, Media, and the other oriental provinces as far as India; and in 303 B. C. he was endeavouring to subdue Sandrocottus, an Indian, who had acquired the sovereignty in that country. But as this new Indian king had a large army in the field, and as the presence of Seleucus was necessary in the West, he concluded a treaty with the Indians, by which he obtained five hundred elephants.†

The same year, Demetrius Poliorcetes conducted another fleet to Greece, and in order to restore freedom to the Greeks he not only took from Ptolemy, Sicyon, Corinth, and other cities, but pressed so closely upon Cassander in Macedonia, that he was forced to sue for peace with Antigonus. But as Antigonus required him to surrender unconditionally, he and his ally Lysimachus applied to Seleucus and Ptolemy that their alliance might be renewed, and aid afforded them. Accordingly, Seleucus returned from India, as has been already related. The effects of this new alliance were first visible in the countries bordering on the Hellespont, 302 B. C. Cassander diligently prosecuted the war against Demetrius, who, relying too confidently on the great power of his father, was leading a scandalous life in Peloponnesus. Lysimachus, in the mean time, left Thrace, and, passing the Hellespont, subdued Phrygia, Lydia, Lycaonia, and Propontis, as far as the river Meander. This coming to the knowledge of Antigonus, who was then amusing himself with military games at Antigonia in Syria, he put his army in motion and recaptured many of the conquered cities. Lysimachus, on account of the inferiority of his forces, was obliged to hold himself on the defensive. Still he endeavoured to dispute every inch of ground with Antigonus, until both armies retired into winter quarters.

During these occurrences Seleucus was marching with a numerous army from Babylonia towards Cappadocia. Antigonus received notice of this movement early in the winter, and accordingly recalled his son Demetrius from Greece. Thus Cassander was delivered from his enemy. On his march, Demetrius garrisoned some of the revolted cities, and then joined his forces to those of his father. While Seleucus was approaching, Ptolemy also put his army in motion, passed through Arabia Petrea, took possession of Palestine, and laid siege to Zidon. But a rumour

• Diodor. Sic. xx. 91-100. Plutarch, Demetrius, xxi.

xxii. Pausanias, Attic. LI. viii. 6.

Justin, xv. 4. Appian, Syriac. Iv. 80-100.

Diodor. Sic. xx. 106-110. Plutarch, Demetrius, xxiii.-xxvii.

having got abroad that Seleucus had been defeated by Antigonus, Ptolemy, fearing that he should be suddenly attacked by the victorious army, concluded an armistice of four months with the Zidonians, and hastened back to Egypt. Meanwhile Seleucus entered Cappadocia with twenty thousand infantry, twelve thousand cavalry, four hundred and eighty elephants, and more than one hundred chariots armed with scythes. The hostile armies now approached nearer and nearer, and prepared themselves for a decisive engagement during the ensuing summer.*

This decisive battle was fought, 301 B. C., at Ipsus in Phrygia. Antigonus brought into the field between seventy thousand and eighty thousand infantry, ten thousand cavalry, and seventy elephants. Seleucus and his allies had sixtyfour thousand infantry, ten thousand five hundred cavalry, above one hundred chariots armed with scythes, and more than four hundred elephants. After a bloody battle Antigonus was defeated, and left dead on the field, pierced with many wounds. Demetrius escaped with eight thousand or nine thousand men, and fled to Ephesus, where his fleet was stationed. After wandering about for some time he sailed to Cyprus, which still remained in his possession, together with some other cities and districts. He lived seventeen years after this, and undertook various expeditions, which will be noticed as we proceed, but he could never regain his power.f

Seleucus, Ptolemy, Cassander, and Lysimachus, now made a permanent treaty. They were each to assume the diadem and the royal title, and to govern their provinces with royal authority. The partition was made in the following manner:-Cassander was to have Macedonia and Greece; Lysimachus-Thrace, Bithynia, and some of the adjoining provinces; PtolemyLybia, Egypt, Arabia Petrea, Palestine, and Coelosyria; and Seleucus-all that remained, which comprehended many provinces in Asia Minor, Syria, Mesopotamia, Babylonia, and the East as far as India; in all, seventy-two satrapies.

In the prophecy of Daniel, these princes are the four horns of the he-goat, which sprang up after the great horn was broken; and these are the four heads of the leopard. Seleucus is the prince at the court of the king of Egypt, (king of the south,) who was to acquire the most extensive power; and this power he now actually possessed. (Dan. viii. 8, 21, 22; vii. 6; xi. 5.)

Of the four sovereigns who shared the empire among them Cassander died first, 298 B. C., after he had reigned nineteen years over Macedonia. Philip, his son and successor, dying soon after, the two younger sons of Cassander contended for the crown. Antipater, the elder of the two, was so eager in the prosecution of his claim that he murdered his own mother because she favoured the views of his brother Alexander. The latter fled to Demetrius Poliorcetes, who gladly embraced this opportunity of leading an army into Macedonia, under pretence of establishing Alexander on the throne. The intentions of Lysimachus at first were good, and he advised Antipater to an accommodation with his brother. But when Demetrius had put Alexander to death and seized the Macedonian sceptre for himself, Lysimachus murdered Antipater also. Thus Demetrius remained, for a few years, king of Macedonia.*

Justin, xv. 1, 2. Plutarch, Demetrius, xxxvi.-xxxix.

Demetrius, 295 B. C., reconquered the Athenians, who had shaken off his yoke during his absence in Macedonia. He was not so successful in Cyprus, where Ptolemy had made an invasion, for he irrecoverably lost possession of that island, and, as it appears, of Phenicia also; for we shall find hereafter this territory under the dominion of Ptolemy. His power, however, was still considerable, for, besides Macedonia, he possessed a considerable part of Peloponnesus, and several cities in Asia Minor. He even entertained some hope of recovering his father's kingdom, and for this purpose, 388 B. C., he collected a fleet of five hundred sail, and an army of one hundred thousand men. But just as he was ready to embark, Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, invaded Macedonia, and almost all the soldiers of Demetrius forsook him and returned home; and he was accordingly forced to flee to Greece in the disguise of a common soldier. Afterwards he sailed to Asia with eleven thousand men, and at Miletus, in accordance with an engagement previously made, he married a daughter of Ptolemy, and then invaded Caria and Lydia. Here he was repulsed, but he went still further eastward, and was finally made prisoner by Seleucus, his sonin-law. He was treated with respect, but could never regain his freedom; and at last he died in captivity, 283 B. c.*

Lysimachus, in the year 299 B. C., took in marriage Arsinoe, a daughter of Ptolemy, and his son Agathocles married another daughter of the same king. The next year, Seleucus, as has been already intimated, married Stratonice, the daughter of Demetrius Poliorcetes. In the same year Megasthenes died, the celebrated historian of Assyria, Babylonia, and India. He was often consulted on affairs of state by Seleucus, and was employed by him in his negotiations with Sandrocottus, king of India. Nothing now remains of his works except some fragments preserved by Eusebius and Josephus,†

In the dominions of Seleucus many cities had been entirely destroyed, and others greatly injured by the ravages of war. losses, he built a great number of new cities, To repair these among which are reckoned sixteen of the name

of Antiochia, nine, of Seleucia, five, of Laodicea, four, of Apamea, and one, of Stratonice. Antiochia or Antioch, on the Orontes in Syria, was the residence of all the succeeding kings, and in later times, of the Roman governors. About three English miles from the city was the grove of Daphne, which Antiochus made an asylum for criminals and a place of pleasure. It afterwards became so infamous for its licentiousness, that no man of good character would visit it.

One Seleucia was likewise situated on the Orontes near the sea, and served as a port for Antioch, which was about twelve English miles further up the river. The most celebrated city of this name, however, was on the Tigris, between thirty and forty English miles north-east of Babylon, near the site of the modern Bagdad, and opposite to the ancient Ctesiphon. This

Justin, ubi supra. Plutarch, Demetrius, xliii.-liii. Pausanias, Attic. I. x. 1, 2. Diodor. Sic. Fragm. xxi. + Plutarch, Demetrius, xlvii. Arrian, Indic. v.

23.

apparent additions in the Old Testament well correspond to the age of Simon. The genealogical register of David, in the first Book of Chronicles, comes down to about the year 300 B. C., and in the catalogue of high priests in the Book of Nehemiah, Jaddua is mentioned in a manner which seems to intimate that he had been dead for some time.

Simon the Just, according to Eusebius, died in 292 B. C., in the ninth year of his administration. The Alexandrian Chronicle, which in the chronology of the preceding periods corresponds more nearly than Eusebius with Josephus and the Bible, makes the term of his office fourteen years, which is evidently too great, as has been demonstrated by Prideaux.+

The successor of Simon was his brother Eleazer, for his son Onias had not arrived at the age which the law required for induction to the high priesthood. Eleazer succeeded to the priesthood only, for the presidentship of the Sanhedrim was conferred on Antigonus Socho, the most learned Jew of that age. He, it is said, was the first of the Mishnical teachers, who studied the traditions and brought them into repute. This information also is derived from the more modern writings, which cannot be regarded as conclusive authority; though the tradition very probably is founded on fact. The collection of those precepts which afterwards acquired such great authority as the oral instructions of Moses must have been commenced in this age; for we find manifest traces of them in the times immediately succeeding.

During this period, many colonies of Jews were established out of Palestine. On account of their fidelity to their oaths, Seleucus Nicator allured them to the cities which he built, by raising them to the highest rank of citizens; as the Ptolemies granted them in Alexandria the same privileges enjoyed by the Macedonians. Many of them settled at Antioch on the Orontes, the metropolis of the Syrian empire, where they enjoyed their ancient privileges even after the destruction of Jerusalem.§

NOTE. The most ancient books which contain an account of these Jewish traditions, originated at about the tenth century of the Christian era. At this time the Caraite Jews became numerous, and demanded of the Rabbins some proof of the genuineness and authority of their traditions. This proof the Rabbins attempted to give, and named the men by whom their traditions were said to have been transmitted. They began with Adam, and where the writings of the Old Testament failed them, they introduced extracts from the Talmud, and the oral testimony of the men who were supposed to have communicated the traditions to their disciples at the high schools in Judea, Babylonia and other places. These books are the following:

1. Seder Olam Rabbah, in the early part of the ninth century.

2. Jeshuboth Rabbi Sherira Gaon, in the latter part of the tenth century.

3. Seder Olam Zeurah, in the early part of the twelfth century.

4. Sepher Kabbala Rabbi Abraham Levi Ben Dior, in the latter part of the twelfth century. 5. Sepher Juchasin, in 1580, at Cracow.

6. Shalsheleth Hakkabbala, in 1587, at Venice. 7. Zemach David, in 1592, at Prague, by R. Ganz.

It is plain enough that the authors of these books lived at too late a period to afford satisfactory evidence respecting traditions so ancient; and that their testimony is of no greater value than the traditions, from which all their knowledge of these subjects was derived.

LXXXIV. ANTIOCHUS SOTER, 279-260 B. C.

After the assassination of Seleucus Nicator, his son Antiochus ascended the throne of Asia, 279 B. C. He immediately sent Patrocles with an army to Asia Minor, to secure those provinces and to make war upon the murderer of his father. But the Bithynians drew Patrocles into an ambush, and destroyed him with all his army. Zipates, king of Bithynia, was so elated by his victory that he died for joy. His son and successor Nicodemus was unable to take advantage of this success, because he was involved in a long and dangerous war with his youngest brother. During these difficulties. Antiochus having threatened to revenge the destruction of his army, Nicomedes solicited the aid of the Gauls. At his invitation they entered Asia Minor, 277 B. c. and took a very conspicuous part in all the succeeding transactions of that country. The greatness and extent of their influence is thus described by Justin: "Gallorum ea tempestate tantæ fœcunditatis juventus fuit, ut Asiam omnem velut examine aliquo implerent. Denique neque reges Orientis sine mercenario Gallorum exercitu ulla bella gesserunt, neque pulsi regno ad alios quam ad Gallos confugerunt. Tantus terror Gallici nominis et armorum invicta felicitas fuit, ut aliter neque majestatem suam tutam, neque amissam recuperare se posse sine Gallica virtute arbitrarentur." The Galatians settled on the river Halys, to whom Paul directed one of his epistles, were the descendants of these Gauls.*

Antiochus, in consequence of the last victory of his father over Lysimachus, had claims upon Thrace and Macedonia; but he was unable to prosecute them on account of the loss of his army under Patrocles. Accordingly, after Ceraunus had been cut off by the Gauls, Sosthenes succeeded him on the throne. He dying, 276 B. C., Antigonus Gonatas, a son of Demetrius Poliorcetes, who held the government of several Grecian cities, seized the sceptre of Macedonia. ochus now advanced with an army to assert his claims, but as Gonatas was in alliance with the Bithynian king Nicomedes, it became necessary for Antiochus to subdue Bithynia before he could proceed to Macedonia. He therefore consented to terms of peace. He gave his daughter Phile

Anti

• Livy, xxxviii. 16. Memnon, Excerpt. cap. 16. 18, 21. Pausanias, Phocic. X. xix. 5-23, 9. Polybius, ii. 13-25. Justin, xxiv. 4–8; xxv. 1, 2; xxvi. 2. Diodor. Sic. Fragment. xx. 16.

in marriage to Gonatas, and relinquished the crown of Macedonia to him and his descendants.*

Antiochus now, 275 B. C., turned his arms against the Gauls, who, having settled in Asia Minor with the consent of Nicomedes, infested the country with rapine and pillage. He put a stop to their depredations and forced them to remain quiet. The provinces, in the warmth of their gratitude for a deliverance from so severe a pest, conferred on him the divine title of Ewryp, Saviour.t

Against Pergamus he was not equally successful. Philetærus, a eunuch, governor and treasurer under Lysimachus, had made himself independent in that city. He died in 263 B. C., and was succeeded by Eumenes, the son of his brother. Antiochus attacked this prince in the year 262 B. C., but he was repulsed by Eumenes. The next year Antiochus nominated his son Antiochus II. for his successor, and died, 260 B. c.‡

NOTE. After the Romans had driven from Italy, Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, 274 B. C., whom the Tarentines had called in to their aid they became known in the oriental countries, and Ptolemy Philadelphus entered into an alliance with them.§ Eleven years after this, 263 B. C., the first Punic war began, which continued twentyfour years, to 239 B. C.

LXXXV. ANTIOCHUS THEOS, 260-245 B. C. About this time Timarchus, governor of Caria under Ptolemy Philadelphus, made himself absolute master of Miletus. Antiochus II. delivered the Milesians from his tyranny. They were so overjoyed by the recovery of their freedom that they deemed the divine title of Zorno, Saviour, too mean for so great a benefactor, and conferred on him the idolatrous appellation of edg, the God. This style he ever after bore on his coins. But the deified monarch soon found that he had not risen above the ills of humanity, for he became involved in a disastrous war, which he was compelled to close by a disgraceful peace. We must go back a little in our narrative, in order more fully to develope the origin of this

war.

Magas, or Agas, a half-brother of Ptolemy Philadelphus, who was appointed governor of Cyrene in 307 B. C., married Arsinoe, a daughter of Antiochus Soter. In the year 265 B. C., he threw off his allegiance to Ptolemy, and was marching with his army towards Alexandria, when the Marmarides, a nomadic race in Cyrene, excited disturbances which compelled him to return. Ptolemy, who had collected his forces, was prevented from pursuing the rebel by a conspiracy among the four thousand Gauls whom he had taken into his pay, and his other mercenary troops. Thus Magas escaped unpunished; and in 264 B. C. he made an agreement with his fatherin-law Antiochus Soter, that while he entered Egypt on the west, Antiochus should at the same

⚫ Justin, xxv. 1. Plutarch, Demetrius, liii. + Appian, Syriac. lxv. 70-75.

I Pausanias, Attic. I. viii. 12; x. 4. Strabo, p. 623. Appian, Syriac. lxv. 75.

Plutarch, Pyrrhus, xiii.-xxv. Livy, Epitome of books, x. xiv. Eutropius, Brev. Hist. Rom. ii. 15, 18.

Justin, xxvii. 1. Appian, Syriac. lxv. 75-80. Athenæus, vi. 16. Froehlich, Annal. Syr. Tab. iii.

time invade it from the east. But Philadelphus sent bands of robbers (probably Arabic nomades) and several bodies of light-armed troops into the provinces of Antiochus, which obliged him to keep his army at home to protect his own territories from their depredations.*

Agas therefore failed to accomplish his purpose, but he maintained his independence nine years longer. In the year 257 B. C. he was pardoned by Philadelphus, on condition that he should give his daughter Berenice in marriage to the crown-prince of Egypt, with Cyrene for her dowry. But before the contract was fulfilled, Magas died. His widow Arsinoe broke off the negotiation and gave her hand to Demetrius, half-brother to Antigonus Gonatas, king of Macedonia. But in the following year, 256 B. C., Demetrius was put to death by the Cyreneans, the marriage of the princess with the crownprince of Egypt was consummated, and Arsinoe fled to Antioch. There she instigated her brother Antiochus Theos to the unfortunate war above referred to, which commenced in 255, and continued till 249 B. c.†

Philadelphus, now bending under the weight of years and infirmities, intrusted the conduct of this war to his generals, but Antiochus in the bloom of youth, led his troops in person. No complete history of the war has been preserved, but neither of the contending parties appear to have gained any very decided advantages. While Antiochus was thus wasting the strength of his empire in hostilities against Egypt to gratify his sister, Parthia, Bactria and other provinces beyond the Tigris, revolted from his dominion during the year 250 B. c. In consequence of these revolts, he was forced in 249 B. c. to make peace with Philadelphus, on such terms as he could obtain. The conditions were, that he should repudiate his beloved queen, who was his half sister, that he should take in marriage Berenice, a daughter of Philadelphus, and that the first male issue of this marriage should succeed to the throne. The bride was conducted to Seleucia on the Orontes by Philadelphus in person. with a fleet. and the nuptials, of which Daniel had prophesied, (Dan. xi. 6.) were celebrated with great solemnity.

Immediately after the death of Philadelphus, which took place 247 B. C., two years after the peace, Antiochus put away Berenice and restored his beloved queen Laodice. But she soon after murdered her husband. Meanwhile Berenice fled to the sanctuary of Daphne, but it afforded her no protection, for she was slain together with her son.§

In the mean time, Ptolemy Euergetes, the brother of Berenice, who had ascended the throne of Egypt, and the cities in Cilicia, Pamphylia, Lycia, Caria and Cyprus, which were under the dominion of Egypt, despatched troops with all

Pausanias, Attic. I. viii. 1—3.
Justin, xxvi. 3.

in Dan. xi. 5.

Justin, xli. 4. Photium, Cod. 58.

Strabo, p. 789. Jerome, Comment.

Strabo, p. 515. Arrian, Parthic. apud Syncellus, p. 284. Valerius Maximus, ix. 14. Appian, Syriac. Ixv. 75-85. § Valerius Maximus, ix. 14. Justin, xxvii. 1. Appian, Syriac. Ivx. 75-85, comp. Dan. xi. 6. Theocritus, Idyll. xvii. 85-90.