PTOLEMY

PTOLEMY
PTOLEMY (c. 135 B.C.E.), son of Ḥabub (Abubus) and son-in-law of simeon b. mattathias (the Hasmonean). Ptolemy was strategos (i.e., military and local commander) at Jericho. Plotting to overthrow the Hasmonean House in 135 B.C.E., he invited Simeon and his entourage to a banquet while they were on a visit to the Jericho area, and treacherously murdered him and later two of his sons. He then sent messengers to Gazara (Gezer) to kill Simeon's other son john hyrcanus . At the same time, he set out to capture Jerusalem, dispatching a message to the Syrian king, Antiochus Sidetes, to inform him of the developments and to enlist his aid. Hyrcanus succeeded, however, in killing his assailants and hastened to Jerusalem where he won the trust of the people, who remained loyal to   the Hasmonean dynasty. Having ensured his succession, Hyrcanus pursued Ptolemy and besieged him in a fortress in the vicinity of Jericho to which he had retreated. Ptolemy was able to defy Hyrcanus by holding his mother as a hostage. Eventually Hyrcanus had to lift the siege as a result of the onset of the Sabbatical year which led to a food shortage. Ptolemy fled to Philadelphia (Rabbath Ammon), after putting Hyrcanus' mother to death, and he is not heard of again. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: I Macc. 16; Jos., Ant., 13:228–35; Jos., Wars, 1:54–60; Schuerer, Hist, 66–68. (Lea Roth)

Encyclopedia Judaica. 1971.

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  • PTOLEMY — PTOLEMY, the common name of monarchs of the Macedonian (or Thirty First) Dynasty who ruled in Egypt from 323 to 30 B.C.E. It is unclear precisely how many such sovereigns there actually were; some scholars give a total of 14 and some 16. Most… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • PTOLEMY° — (Son of Mennaeus), king of Chalcis, in the region of the Lebanon (c. 85–40 B.C.E.). josephus relates that the inhabitants of Damascus despised Ptolemy, and preferred as king of Coele Syria the Nabatean king, Aretas. Ptolemy s position in the area …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Ptolemy — Ptolemy1 [täl′ə mē] n. 1. name of a Macedonian dynasty of Egypt founded by Ptolemy I and ruling from 323 to 30 B.C. 2. pl. Ptolemies a member of this dynasty Ptolemy2 [täl′ə mē] 1. (L. name Claudius Ptolomaeus) 2d cent. A.D.; Alexandrian… …   English World dictionary

  • Ptolemy — from Gk. Ptolemaios, lit. warlike, from ptolemos, collateral form of polemos war …   Etymology dictionary

  • Ptolemy — For others with Ptolemy... names, and history of those names, see Ptolemy (name). Ptolemy An early B …   Wikipedia

  • Ptolemy — /tol euh mee/, n., pl. Ptolemies for 2. 1. (Claudius Ptolemaeus) fl. A.D. 127 151, Hellenistic mathematician, astronomer, and geographer in Alexandria. 2. any of the kings of the Macedonian dynasty that ruled Egypt 323 30 B.C. * * * I Latin… …   Universalium

  • PTOLEMY —    1) the name of the Macedonian kings of Egypt, of which there were 14 in succession, of whom Ptolemy I., SOTER, was a favourite general of Alexander the Great, and who ruled Egypt from 328 to 285 B.C.; Ptolemy II., PHILADELPHUS, who ruled from… …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Ptolemy — (c. 2nd century ad) Egyptian astronomer Virtually nothing is known about the life of Ptolemy (full name Claudius Ptolemaeus). He was probably a Hellenized Egyptian working in the library at Alexandria. He produced four major works the Almagest,… …   Scientists

  • Ptolemy — (d. 58 BC)    King of Cyprus. Illegitimate son of Ptolemy IX by an unknown mistress. When his brother became Ptolemy XII of Egypt in 80 BC, he was given Cyprus to rule. His kingdom was unilaterally annexed by Rome in 58 BC. He was offered the… …   Ancient Egypt

  • Ptolemy — I Ptol•e•my [[t]ˈtɒl ə mi[/t]] n. pl. mies 1) big (Claudius Ptolemaeus) fl. a.d. 127–151, Alexandrian mathematician, astronomer, and geographer 2) big anh any of the kings of the Macedonian dynasty in Egypt 323–30 b.c. II Ptol•e•my [[t]ˈtɒl ə… …   From formal English to slang

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