v49_0454 - EGITTO - REGNO D'EGITTO - TOLOMEO IV PHILOPATOR Tetrachalque, (GB, Æ 38)

EGYPT - LAGID OR PTOLEMAIC KINGDOM - PTOLEMY IV PHILOPATOR

(221-205 BC)

Ptolemy IV (238-205 BC) was the son of Ptolemy III Euergetes and Berenice II. He was given the title Philopator (his father's friend) in derision, as he is accused of having poisoned him. During his reign, Sosibius actually ruled Egypt. In 219, he lost Seleucia Pieria, which he had to abandon to Antiochus III the Great, but the victory at Raphia in 217 BC restored the balance and allowed him to recover Coele-Syria from the Seleucids. Ptolemy IV, after a dissolute life, died at the age of 33, leaving a five-year-old child, Ptolemy V, under the guardianship of his wife/sister Arsinoe III.