was meditating a war with the Romans,* he judged it better to proceed by stratagem, and to carry on his designs by treaty rather than by arms. For this purpose he shall give him 'the daughter of women,' his daughter so called as being one of the most eminent and beautiful of women and accordingly Antiochus proposed a treaty of marriage by Eucles the Rhodian, betrothed his daughter Cleopatra to Ptolemy in the seventh year of his reign, and married her to him in the thirteenth." He conducted her himself to Raphia, where they were married; and " gave in dowry with her the provinces of Colo-Syria and Palestinc,"+ upon condition of the revenues being equally divided between the two kings. All this he transacted with a fraudulent intention, 'to corrupt her,' and induce her to betray her husband's interests to her father. But his designs did not take effect she shall not stand on his part, neither be for him.' "Ptolemy and his generals were aware of his artifices, and therefore stood upon their guard: and Cleopatra herself affected more the cause of her husband than of her father;"‡ insomuch that "she joined with her husband in an embassy to the Romans to congratulate them upon the victories over her father, and to exhort them, after they had expelled him out of Greece, to prosecute the war in Asia, assuring them at the same time that the king and queen of Egypt would readily obey the commands of the senate."§ Antiochus having as he thought, secured all things behind him, engaged in an unhappy war with the Romans. After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many: but a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him, to cease; without his own reproach he shall cause it to turn upon him,'-ver. 18. Antiochus fitted out a formidable fleet of one hundred large ships of war, and two hundred other lesser vessels. With this fleet he * Appian. ibid. P. 145. + -filliam suam Cleopatram per Euclem Rhodium, septimo anno regni adolesscentis, despondit Ptolemæo, et tertio decimo anno tradidit, data ei dotis nomine omni Cole-Syria et Judæa. [Translated in the text.]. Hieron. in locum col. 1126. Appian. ibid. Liv. lib. 35, cap. 13. Joseph. Antiq. lib. 12, cap. 4, sect. 1, p. 523, edit. Hudson. Ptolemæus Epiphanes et duces ejus sentientes patra, magis viri partes, quam parentis solvit. ibid. dolum, cautius se egerunt, et Cleo[Translated in the text.] Hieron. Legati ab Ptolemæo et Cleopatra, regibus Ægypti, gratulantes quod Manius Acilius consul Antiochum regem Græcia expulisset, venerunt: adhortantesque ut in Asiam exercitum traduceret- -reges Ægypti ad ea, quæ censuisset senatus, paratos fore. [Translated in the text.] Liv. lib. 37, cap 3. || Liv. lib. 33, cap. 19, 20, 38, &c. Steph.; p. 142, 145, 151, &c. edit. Tollii. Appian. de Bell. Syr. p. 86, 89, 93, &c. edit turned his face unto the isles' of the Mediterranean; subdued most of the maritime places on the coasts of Asia, Thrace, and Greece. and took' Samos, Euboea, and 'many' other islands. This was a great indignity and reproach offered' to the Romans, when their confederates were thus oppressed, and the cities, which they had lately restored to liberty, were enslaved. But a prince' or rather a leader, a general, meaning the Roman generals, repelled the in jury and caused his reproach to cease.' Acilius the consul fought with Antiochus at the straits of Thermopyla, routed him, and expelled him out of Greece;† Livius and Æmilius beat his fleets at sea and Scipio finally obtained a decisive victory over him in Asia, near the city of Magnesia, at the foot of mount Sipylus. Antiochus lost fifty thousand foot, and four thousand horse in that day's engagement; fourteen hundred were taken prisoners; and he himself escaped with difficulty. Upon this defeat he was necessitated to sue for peace, and was obliged to submit to very dishonorable conditions, not to set foot in Europe, and to quit all Asia on this side of mount Taurus, to defray the whole charges of the war, &c. and to give twenty hostages for the performance of these articles, one of whom was his younger son Antiochus, afterwards called Epiphanes. By these means he and his successors became tributary to the Romans:§ so truly and effectually did they not only cause the reproach offered by him to cease,' but greatly to their honour' caused it to turn upon him.' Antiochus did not long survive this disgrace; and the latter part of his life and reign was as mean, as the former part had been glorious. Then shall he turn his face towards the fort of his own land but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.-ver. 19. Antiochus after the battle, fled away that night to Sardes,|| and from thence to Apamea, and the next day he came into Syria, to Antioch, the fort of his own land.' It was from thence that he sent ambassadors to sue for peace; and, within a few days after cap. 54-statimque Græciam insulasque ejus occupavit. (And he immediately took Greece and its islands.] * Appian de Bell. Syr. p. 87, edit. Steph.; p. 143, edit. Tollii. Liv. lib. 33, cap. 39; hib. 34, cap 58. Polyb. lib. 17, p. 769, edit. Casaubon. † Liv. lib. 36 et 37. Appian. de Bell. Syr. Florus, lib. 2, cap. 8. Justin. lib. 31, cap. 6, 7, 8. Polyb. Legat. 24, p. 816, 817. Liv. lib. 37, cap 35. Appian. de Bell. Syr. p. 111, &c. edit. Steph.; p. 178, &c. edit. Tollii. Justin. ibid. 1 Macc. viii. 7. Liv. lib. 37, cap. 44 Appian, de Bell. Syr. p. 110, edit. Steph,: p. 177. edit, Tollii. peace was granted, he sent part of the money demanded, and the hostages, to the Roman consul at Ephesus. He is reported indeed to have borne his losses with great equanimity of temper,t and said that he was much obliged to the Romans for easing him from a great deal of care and trouble, and for confining him within the bounds of a moderate empire. But whatever he might pretend, he lived in distress and poverty, for a great king, being under the greatest difficulties how to raise the money which he had stipulated to pay to the Romans; and his necessity or his avarice prompted him at last to commit sacrilege. He marched into the eastern provinces, to collect there the arrears of tribute, and amass what treasure he could; and attempting to plunder the rich temple of Jupiter Belus, in Elymais, he was assaulted by the inhabitants of the country, was defeated, and himself and all his attendants were slain. So Diodorus Siculus, Strabo, Justin, and Jerome relate the manner and circumstances of his death. Aurelius Victor reports it otherwise, and affirms, that "he was slain by some of his companions, whom, in his liquor, he had beaten at a banquet;"§ but his account deserves not so much credit as the concurrent testimony of earlier historians. However it was, his death was inglorious, he 'stumbled and fell, and was no more found.' His successor was far from retrieving the splendor and glory of Polyb. Legat. 24, p. 817. Liv. lib. 37, cap. 45. + Cicero pro Deiotaro, cap. 13. Valerius Maximus, lib. 4, cap. 1. Diodor Sic. in Excerpt. Valesii, p. 292 et 298. Strabo, lib. 16, p. 744, edit. Paris; 1620; p. 1080, edit. Amstel. 1707. Interea in Lyria rex Antiochus, cum gravi tributo pacis, a Romanis victus, oneratus esset seu inopia pecuniæ compulsus, seu avaritia sollicitatus qua sperabat se, sub specie tributaria necessitatis, excusatius sacrilegia commissurum, adhibito exercitu, nocte templum Elymæi Jovis aggreditur Qua re prodita, concursu insularium, cum omni militia interficetur. [In the mean time, king Antiochus, having been vanquished by the Romans in Syria, had a heavy tribute imposed upon him as the terms of peace; and being either compelled by want of money, or urged by avarice under pretext of the necessity of paying the tribute, (which he hoped would be some palliation of the sacrilege), he put his army in motion, and attacked by night the temple of Jupiter in Elymais. But his design being discovered, the inhabitants assembled and slew him and his troops.] Justin. lib. 32, cap. 2. Victus ergo Antiochus, intra Taurum regnare jussus est: et inde fugit ad Apamiam, ac Susam, et ultimas regni sui penetravit urbes. Quumque adversum Elymæos pugnaret, cum omni est deletus exercitu. [Antiochus, having been vanquished, was ordered to confine his empire within Mount Taurus; from thence he fled to Apamia, and Susa, and penetrated to the most distant cities of his kingdom. But when he engaged with the Elymeans, he was destroyed, with his whole army.] Hieron. ibid. A sodalibus, quos temulentus, in convivio pulsaverat, occisus est.-Aurel Victor de Viris Illustr. cap. 54. [Translated in the text.' the nation. 'Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom;' or rather, according to the original, and as we read in the margin, one that causeth an exactor to pass over the glory of the kingdom :' but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle,'-ver. 20. Seleucus Philopator succeeded his father Antiochus the Great in the throne of Syria: but as Jerome affirms," he performed nothing worthy of the empire of Syria and of his father, and perished ingloriously without fighting any battles."* As Appian also testifies, "he reigned both idly and weakly, by reason of his father's calamity."+ He had an inclination to break the peace, and shake off the Roman yoke; but had not the courage to do it. He raised an army with intent to march over Mount Taurus to the assistance of Pharnaces, king of Pontus: but his dread of the Romans confined him at home, within the bounds prescribed to him; and almost as soon as he had raised, he disbanded his army. The tribute of a thousand talents, which he was obliged to pay annually to the Romans, was indeed a grievous burden to him and his kingdom; and he was little more than a raiser of taxes, all his days. He was tempted even to commit sacrilege; for, being informed of the money that was deposited in the temple of Jerusalem, he sent his treasurer, Heliodorus, to seize it.§ This was literally 'causing an exactor to pass over the glory of the kingdom,' when he sent his treasurer to plunder that temple, which even kings did honour, and magnify with their best gifts,' and where Seleucus himself, of his own revenues, bare all the costs belonging to the service of the sacrifices. But within a few days,' or rather 'years,' according to the prophetic style, he was to be destroyed;' and his reign was of short duration in comparison with his father's; for he reigned only twelve years,¶ and his father thirty-seven. Or perhaps the passage may be better expounded thus, that 'within few days,' or * Seleucum dicit cognoment o Philopatorem filium Magni Antiochi, qui nihil dignum Syriæ et patris gessit imperio; et absque ullis præliis ingloriis periit.-Hieron. ibid [He means Seleucus, surnamed Philopator, the son of Antiochus the Great, who performed, &c. as in the text.] † Απράκτως άμα και άσθενως, δια την τις πατρος συμφοραν. Oliosus nec admodum potens, propter cladem quam pater acceperat.-Appian, de Bellis Syr. p. 131, edit. Steph.; p 212, edit. Tollii. [Translated in the text] * Diod. Sic in Excerpt. Valesii, p 302. Usher's Annals, A. M. 3823, A C 181, p 403. § 2 Macc. iii. 7. Josephus de Maccabæis, sect. 4, p. 1395. edit. Hudson. 2 Macc. iii. 2, 3, ¶ Vide Appian. ibid. years,' after his attempting to plunder the temple of Jerusalem, ne should be destroyed:' and not long after that, as all chronologers agree, he was destroyed, neither in anger nor in battle, neither in rebellion at home, nor in war abroad, but by the treachery of his own treasurer, Heliodorus.* The same wicked hand that was the instrument of his sacrilege, was also the instrument of his death. Seleucus having sent his only son, Demetrius, to be an hostage at Rome instead of his brother Antiochus, and Antiochus being not yet returned to the Syrian court, Heliodorus thought this a fit opportunity to despatch his master, and in the absence of the next heirs to the crown, to usurp it to himself.† But he was disappointed in his ambitious projects, and only made way for another's usurped greatness instead of his own. " Few circumstances are mentioned relating to Seleucus Philopator; many more particulars are predicted of his brother and successor, Antiochus Epiphanes, as he was indeed a more extraordinary person, and likewise a greater enemy and oppressor of the Jews. And in his estate shall stand up a vile person' to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries,'-ver. 21. Antiochus, returning from Rome, was at Athens, in his way to Syria, when his brother, Seleucus, died by the treachery of Heliodorus : and the honour of the kingdom was not given to him;' for Heliodorus attempted to get possession of it himself: another party declared in favour of Ptolemy Philometor, king of Egypt,§ whose mother Cleopatra, was the daughter of Antiochus the Great, and sister of the late king Seleucus: and neither was Antiochus Epiphanes the right heir to the crown, but his nephew Demetrius, the son of Seleucus, who was then a hostage at Rome. However, he obtained the kingdom by flatteries.' He flattered Eumenes, king of Pergamus, and Attalus, his brother, and by fair promises engaged their assistance,|| and they the more readily assisted him, as they were at that juncture jealous of the Romans, and were willing therefore to secure a friend in the king of Syria. He flattered too the Syrians, and with great show of clemency obtained their concurrence. He flattered also the Romans, and sent ambassabors to " * Εξ ἐπιβολης Ηλιόδωρη τινος των περὶ αὐτὸν ἀποθνήσκει. Insidiis Heliodori cujusdam purpurati est. App. de Bellis Syr. p. 116, edit Stephani: p. 187, edit. Tolii. [He died by the treachery of Heliodorus, one of his courtiers.] + Vide Appian. ibid. Hieron. in locum, col. 1127. + Appian. ibid. § Appian. ibid. ¶ Simulatione clementiæ obtinuit regnum Syriæ.---Hieron. ibid. [With a show of clemency he obtained the kingdom of Syria.] |