dead, there should one arise out of a branch of her roots in his estate, that is, Ptolemy Euergetes, who, springing from the same root with her, as being her brother, did stand up in the estate of Ptolemy Philadelphus his father, whom he succeeded in his kingdom; and that he should come with an army, and enter into the fortress of the king of the North, and prevail against him, and should carry captive into Egypt the gods of the Syrians, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and gold; and so should come, and return again into his onn kingdom. And how exactly all this was fulfilled, what is above related doth sufficiently shew. It is said also in the same prophecy, (ver. 8,) That the king of the South, on his return into his kingdom, should continue more years than the king of the North: and so it happened; for Ptolemy Euergetes outlived Seleucus Callinicus four years, as will be hereafter shewn.

When Ptolemy Euergetes went on this expedition into Syria, Berenice his queen, out of the tender love she had for him, being much concerned, because of the danger which she feared he might be exposed to in this war, made a vow of consecrating her hair (in the fineness of which, it seems, the chief of her beauty consisted,) in case he returned again safe and unhurt; and therefore on his coming back again with safety and full success, for the fulfilling of her vow, she cut off her hair, and offered it up in the temple which Ptolemy Philadelphus had built to his beloved wife Arsinoe, on the promontory of Zephyrium in Cyprus, by the name of the Zephyrian Venus. But there, a little after, the consecrated hair being lost, or perchance contemptuously flung away by the priests, and Ptolemy being much offended at it, Conon of Samos, a flattering mathematician then at Alexandria, to salve up the matter, and also to ingratiate himself with the king, gave out, that this hair was catched up into heaven; and he there shewed seven stars near the tail of the lion, not till then taken within any constellation, which he said were the queen's consecrated hair; which conceit of his, other flattering astronomers following with the same view, or

Hygini Poctica Astronomica. Nonnus in Historiarum Synagoga.

perchance not daring to say otherwise, hence Coma Berenices, (that is, the hair of Berenice) became one of the constellations, and is so to this day. Callimachus the poet, who, as I have afore shewn, lived in these times, made an hymn upon this hair of queen Berenice, a translation of which being made by Catullus, is still extant anong his poetical works.

On king Ptolemy Euergetes' return from this expedition, he took Jerusalem in his way, and there, by many sacrifices to the God of Israel, paid his acknowledgments for the victories he had obtained over the king of Syria, choosing rather to offer up his thanks to Him, than to the gods of Egypt, for them; the reason of which very probably might be, that, being shewn the prophecies of Daniel concerning them, he inferred from thence, that he owed them only to that God, whose prophet had so fully predicted them.

An. 245.

getes 2,

As soon as Ptolemy was returned into Egypt, Seleucus prepared a great fleet on the coasts of Syria, for the reducing the revolted cities of Ptol. EuerAsia. But he was no sooner put to sea, but, meeting with a very violent storm, he lost all his ships in it, scarce any thing remaining of so great a preparation, besides himself, and some few of his followers, that escaped naked with him to land from this calamitous wreck. But this blow, how terrible soever it might seem at first to appear, by a strange turn of affairs, did all in the result prove to his advantage: for the revolted cities of Asia (who, out of the abhorrence they had of him for the murder of Berenice and her son, had gone over to Ptolemy,) on their hearing of this great loss, thinking that murder to be sufficiently revenged by it, took compassion of him and returned again to him. By which fortunate revolution being again restored to the best part of his dominions," he prepared a great army against Ptolemy for the Ptol. Euerrecovering of the rest. But in this attempt he had no better success than in the former: for, being overthrown in battle by Ptolemy, he lost the greatest

P Josephus contra Apionem, lib. 2.

q Justin. lib. 27, c. 2. Trogi Prologus, 27. Polybius, lib. 5. r Justin. lib. 27, c. 2.

An. 244.

getes 3.

part of his army, and escaped to Antioch from this misadventure with as few of his followers as from the former; whereon, for the restoration of his broken affairs, he invited Antiochus his brother to join him with his forces, promising him all the provinces in the Lesser Asia that belonged to the Syrian empire on this condition. He was then at the head of an army in those provinces; and although then he was but fourteen years old, yet being of a forward and very aspiring spirit, or else (as is most probable) being conducted by others who were of this temper, he readily accepted of the proposal, and accordingly prepared for the accomplishing of it; but not so much out of a design of saving any part of the empire to his brother, as to gain it all to himself; for he was of a very rapacious and greedy disposition, laying his hands on all that he could get, right or wrong; whereon they called him Hierax, that is, the hawk, because that bird flies at all that comes in his way, and takes every thing for good prey that it can lay its talons upon.

S

After this second blow received by Seleucus, the cities of Smyrna and Magnesia in Lesser Asia, out of the affection which they bore unto him, entered into a league to join all their power and strength for the support of his interest and royal majesty; which they caused to be engraven on a large column of marble. This very marble column is now standing in the theatre yard at Oxford, with the said league engraven on it in Greek capital letters, still very legible; from whence it was published by me among the Marmora Oxoniensia about forty years since. It was brought out of Asia by Thomas earl of Arundel, in the beginning of the reign of king Charles I. and was given, with other marbles, to the university of Oxford, by Henry duke of Norfolk his grandson, in the reign of king Charles II.

An. 243.

Ptolemy, on his hearing that Antiochus was preparing to join Seleucus against him, that he Ptol. Euer might not have to do with both at the same time,t came to an agreement with Seleucus;

getes 4.

s Marmora Oxoniensia, p. 5, 6, &c.

t Justin. lib. 27, c. 2.

and a peace was concluded between them for ten

years.

An. 242.

getes 5.

However, Antiochus desisted not from his preparations, which Seleucus, now understanding to be made against himself," marched over Ptol. EuerMount Taurus to suppress him. The pretence for the war on Antiochus' part was the promise that Seleucus had made him of all his provinces in Lesser Asia for his assistance against Ptolemy. But Seleucus, being delivered from that war without his assistance, thought himself not obliged to any thing by that promise. But Antiochus persisting in his demand, and the other in his refusal, this brought the controversy to the decision of a battle between them. It was fought near Ancyra in Lesser Asia; in which Seleucus being overthrown, hardly escaped with his life; and it fared very little better with Antiochus : for having won this victory chiefly by the assistance of the Galatians, or Gauls of Asia, whom he had hired into his service, these barbarians, on a rumour spread that Seleucus was slain in the battle, plotted the death of the other brother also, reckoning that, in case both were cut off, all Asia would be theirs; whereon Antiochus, having no other way to save himself, redeemed his life, by giving them all the treasure he had for the ransom of it.

X

Eumenesy king of Pergamus, making his advantage of these divisions, marched against Antiochus and the Gauls with all his forces, purposing to suppress them both at once. This forced Antiochus to a new treaty with the Gauls; whereon he was content, instead of being their master, to become their confederate, for the mutual defence of both; but Eumenes falling on them before they could recruit themselves after the losses sustained in the late battle at Ancyra, had an easy victory over both, and thereon over-ran all the Lesser Asia.

u Trogus in Prologo, 27. x Polyænus, lib. 8, c. 61. tarchus, περί Φιλαδέλφιας.

y Justin. lib. 27, c. 3. He there calls him king of Bithynia by mistake, for there was no king of Bithynia of that name at this time, as appears from Memnon in the Excerptions of Photius, cod. 234.

An. 241.

getes 6.

Eumenes, after this victory, giving himself up to much drinking, died in the excess of it, Ptol. Euer after he had reigned twenty-two years. He having no children of his own, was succeeded in his kingdom by his cousin-german Attalus, the son of Attalus, his father's younger brother; who, being a wise and valiant prince, maintained himself in the acquisitions of his family; and, having wholly subdued the Gauls, he found himself so firmly established in his dominions by it, that he thenceforth openly assumed the title of king; for his predecessors, though they had the thing, yet abstained from the name. Attalus was the first of that family that took it upon the occasion that I have mentioned; and it was enjoyed by his posterity, with the dominions belonging to it, to the third generation after him.

While Eumenes, and Attalus after him, thus curtailed the Syrian empire on the west side, Theodotus and Arsaces did the same on the east. For it being reported, that Seleucus had been slain in the battle of Ancyra, Arsaces, thinking this an opportunity for him to enlarge himself, seized on Hyrcania, and, adding that to Parthia, established his kingdom over both: and, a little after Theodotus dying, he made a league with his son of the same name, who succeeded him in Bactria, for their mutual defence, and thereby they both strengthened themselves in the possession of what they had gotten. But, notwithstanding all this, the two brothers still went on with their wars against each other, without regarding that, while they were thus contending between themselves for their father's empire, they lost it by piece-meals to others, who were enemies to both.

C

This war in the course of it was at length carried d into Mesopotamia; and then most likely happened the battle in Babylonia, which Judas Maccabæus makes mention of in his speech to his army (2 Macca.

z Athenæus, lib. 10, c. 16.

a Livius, lib. 33. Strabo, lib. 13, p. 624. Valesii Excerpta ex Polybio, lib. 18. Suidas in voce Arlanos. Polyænus, lib. 4, c. 19.

b Justin. lib. 41, c. 4.

e Justin. lib. 27, c. 3.

d Trogus in Prologo 27. Polyænus Stratagem, lib. 4, c. 17.