Ptolemy or Ptolemaeus ( el, ), son of Mennaeus (Mennæus) was

tetrarch Tetrarch, Tetrarchs, or Tetrarchy may refer to: * Tetrarchy, the four co-emperors of the Roman Empire instituted by the Emperor Diocletian * Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs - a sculpture of the four co-emperors of the Roman Empire * Herodian Tetrarc ...

of Iturea and Chalcis from about 85 BC to 40 BC, in which year he died. He tried to extend his

kingdom Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

by warlike expeditions ( Strabo, xvi. 2, § 10); and ruled the

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

, threatened Damascus, subjugated several districts on the

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their histor ...

n coast, and once had

Paneas Banias or Banyas ( ar, بانياس الحولة; he, בניאס, label=Modern Hebrew; Judeo-Aramaic, Medieval Hebrew: פמייס, etc.; grc, Πανεάς) is a site in the Golan Heights near a natural spring, once associated with the Greek g ...

in his hands (

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...

, ''Ant.'' xv. 10, §§ 1–3). In fact, the whole of Galilee had formerly been in the possession of the Itureans, and had been taken away from them in 103 BC by

Aristobulus I Judah Aristobulus I or Aristobulus I (; el, Ἀριστόβουλος, Aristóboulos) was the first Hasmonean king of Judaea from 104 BCE until his death in 103 BCE. He was the eldest of the five sons of John Hyrcanus, the previous leader. Josep ...

. (''ibid.'' xiii. 11, § 3). The

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

thought themselves oppressed by Ptolemy, and hence

Aristobulus II Aristobulus II (, grc, Ἀριστόβουλος ''Aristóboulos'') was the Jewish High Priest and King of Judea, 66 BCE to 63 BCE, from the Hasmonean dynasty. Family Aristobulus was the younger son of Alexander Jannaeus, King and High Pries ...

, at that time still prince and sent by his mother, Alexandra, undertook an expedition against Damascus to protect it against Ptolemy (''ibid.'' 16, § 3; ''idem'', ''B. J.'' i. 5, § 3).

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

destroyed Ptolemy's strongholds in the Lebanon and doubtless took away from him the

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

cities, as he did in

Judaea Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous so ...

. When Aristobulus II was murdered by Pompey's party in Judea (49 BC), his sons and daughters found protection with Ptolemy (''Ant.'' xiv. 7, § 4; ''B. J.'' i. 9, § 2). It may be that the national Jewish party at that time depended for support on the Itureans in Chalcis, and perhaps the following statement has reference to that fact: "On the 17th of Adar danger threatened the rest of the ''Soferim'' in the city of Chalcis, and it was salvation for Israel" (''Meg. Ta'an.'' xii.). Antigonus, son of Aristobulus, was also supported by Ptolemy in his effort to establish himself as king in Judaea (''Ant.'' xiv. 12, § 1). Josephus says that the Hasmonean king Antigonus was a "kinsman" of Ptolemy. He was married to Antigonus's sister Alexandra, who had previously married Ptolemy's son Philippion. However, Ptolemy slew his son and took his bride for himself.''Antiquities of the Jews'', Book XIV, 7:4 Ptolemy died just as the

Parthia Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Med ...

ns were invading Judaea (''Jewish Wars''. xiv. 13, § 3; ''B. J.'' i. 13, § 1). He was succeeded by his son

Lysanias Lysanias was the ruler of a small realm on the western slopes of Mount Hermon, mentioned by the Jewish historian Josephus and in coins from c. 40 BCE. There is also mention of a Lysanias dated to 29 in Gospel of Luke, Luke's Gospel. Lysanias in ...

References

* * Wright, N. L. 2013: "Ituraean coinage in context". ''Numismatic Chronicle'' 173: 55–71
(available online here)
Roman-era Greeks Hellenistic generals Year of birth unknown 40 BC deaths {{AncientGreece-bio-stub