Demetrius permitted people to treat other kings in their conversation at his table, appropriating a regal title to himself and his father; whereas Ptolemy, according to his flatterers, was no more than the captain of a ship; Seleucus a commander of elephants, and Lysimachus a treasurer. A confederacy was therefore formed by these four kings, after which they hastened to make preparations for this new war.

The first operations of it were commenced at the Hellespont, Cassander and Lysimachus having judged it expedient that the former should continue in Europe, to defend it against Demetrius, and that the latter should invade the provinces of Antigonus in Asia with as many troops as could be drawn out of their own kingdom, without leaving them too destitute of forces. Lysimachus executed his part conformably to the agreement, passed the Hellespont with a fine army, and either by treaty or force reduced Phrygia, Lydia, Lycaonia, and most of the territories between the Propontis and the river Mæander.

He

Antigonus was then at Antigonia, which he had lately built in Upper Syria, and where he was employed in celebrating the solemn games he had there established. This news, with that of several other revolts, transmitted to him at the same time, caused him immediately to quit his games. accordingly dismissed the assembly upon the spot, and made preparations for advancing against the enemy. When all his troops were drawn together, he marched with the utmost expedition over Mount Taurus, and entered Cilicia, where he took out of the public treasury of Synada, a city of that province, as much money as he wanted, and then augmented his troops to the number he thought necessary, after which he advanced directly toward the enemy, and retook several places in his march. Lysimachus thought proper to be upon the defensive till the arrival of the succors from Seleucus and Ptolemy upon their march to join him. The remaining part of the year, therefore, elapsed without any action, and each party retired into winter-quarters.

Seleucus, at the beginning of the next season, formed his army at Babylon, and marched into Cappadocia, to act against Antigonus. The latter sent immediately for Deme

trius, who left Greece with great expedition, marched to Ephesus, and retook that city, with several others that had declared for Lysimachus upon his arrival in Asia.

Ptolemy employed the opportunity in Syria of the absence of Antigonus, and recovered all Phoenicia, Judea and Colosyria, except the cities of Tyre and Sidon, where Antigonus had left good garrisons. He, indeed, formed the siege of Sidon; but while his troops were employed in battering the walls, he received intelligence that Antigonus had defeated Seleucus and Lysimachus, and was advancing to relieve the place. Upon this information he made a truce with the Sidonians, raised the siege, and returned to Egypt.

The confederate army, commanded by Seleucus and Lysimachus and the troops of Antigonus and Demetrius, arrived at Phrygia almost at the same time, but did not long confront each other without coming to blows. Antigonus had more than 60,000 foot, 10,000 horse, and 75 elephants. The enemy's forces consisted of 64,000 foot, 10, 500 horse, 400 elephants, and 120 chariots, armed with scythes. The battle was fought near Ipsus, a city of Phrygia (B. C. 301).

As soon as the signal was given, Demetrius, at the head of his best cavalry, fell upon Antiochus, the son of Seleucus, and behaved with so much bravery that he broke the enemy's ranks, and put them to flight; but Demetrius then pursued the fugitives with too much ardor, and without any consideration for the rest of the army; when he returned from the pursuit he found it impracticable for him to rejoin his infantry, the enemy's elephants having occupied all the intermediate space. When Seleucus saw the infantry of Antigonus separated from their cavalry, he only made several feint attacks upon them, sometimes on one side, and sometimes on another, in order to intimidate and afford them sufficient time to quit the army of Antigonus, and come over to his own; and this was at last the expedient on which they resolved. The greatest part of the infantry separated from the rest, and surrendered in a voluntary manner to Seleucus, and the other was put to flight.

At the same instant, a large body of the army of Seleucus drew off by his order, and made a furious attack upon Anti

gonus, who sustained their efforts for some time; but being at last overwhelmed with darts, and having received many wounds, he fell dead, having defended himself valiantly to the last. Demetrius, seeing his father dead, rallied all the troops he was able to draw together; and retired to Ephesus, with 5,000 foot and 4,000 horse. The great Pyrrhus, young as he then was, was inseparable from Demetrius, overthrew all that opposed him, and gave an essay, in this first action, of what might be expected one day from his valor and bravery.

After the battle of Ipsus, the four confederate princes divided the dominions of Antigonus among themselves, and added them to those they already possessed. The empire of Alexander was thus divided into four kingdoms, of which Ptolemy had Egypt, Libya, Arabia, Coelosyria, and Palestine; Cassander had Macedonia and Greece; Lysimachus had Thrace, Bithynia, and some other provinces beyond the Hellespont, with the Bosphorus; Seleucus had all the rest of Asia to the other side of the Euphrates, and as far as the river Indus. The dominions of this last prince are usually called the kingdom of Syria, because Seleucus, who afterwards built Antioch in that province, made it the chief seat of his residence, in which he was followed by his successors, who, from his name, were called Seleucida. This kingdom, however, not only included Syria, but those vast and fertile provinces of Upper Asia, which constituted the Persian empire.-C. ROLLIN.

PTOLEMY II., king of Egypt, surnamed Philadelphus, is deservedly celebrated as a patron of literature and science, and the founder of the great library of Alexandria. He was a son of Ptolemy Soter and Berenice, and was born in the island of Cos, in 309 B.C. He was liberally educated; but little is known respecting his youth and his actions before his ascension to the throne. He inherited his father's love of literature and genius for administration, but not his military ability. In 285 B.C. he was associated with his father in the kingdom, and he became sole king of Egypt on the death of his father, in 283.

Our historical information of his reign is scanty. His first wife was Arsinoë, a daughter of Lysimachus. His foreign policy was essentially pacific. His attention was mainly directed to the internal administration and improvement of the kingdom, the promotion of commerce, and the patronage of literature and science. His dominions included Egypt, Cyprus, Phoenicia, Cole-Syria, Caria, Lycia, and parts of Arabia and Ethiopia. His capital, Alexandria, was the greatest commercial city of the world. During his long reign Egypt was prosperous and powerful, and the revenue was in a flourishing condition. To him belongs the credit of developing to the fullest extent the commercial advantages which the position of Egypt throws open to her, and of bringing by these means her material prosperity to its culminating point. He reopened the canal which connected the Red Sea with the Nile (which

had first been opened by Rameses), and he founded the city of Arsinoë, on the site of the modern Suez. He built on the African coast of the Red Sea the city of Berenice, and he opened a high-road from that city to Coptos on the Nile. The merchandise of India, Arabia and Ethiopia, for several centuries, came to Europe by this route. With his 1,500 ships of war Philadelphus kept a powerful fleet in the Mediterranean and another in the Red Sea.

His character was infected with serious faults. Soon after his ascension he put to death two of his brothers; and he banished Demetrius Phalereus because he had advised Ptolemy Soter not to disinherit his eldest son. He divorced his first wife, and, adopting the incestuous practice of the Persian kings, married his own sister, Arsinoë, for whom he erected a magnificent monument at Alexandria. It is supposed that his surname, Philadelphus, was given on account of his love for his sister.

About 274 B.C., Ptolemy made a treaty of alliance with the Romans, and he continued to be friendly to them during the first Punic War. His half-brother, Magas, who ruled over Cyrene, revolted against Ptolemy, asserted his independence, and in 266 B.C. attempted to invade Egypt. Soon after Magas reached the frontier of Egypt, a revolt of an African tribe recalled him. A few years later Ptolemy recognized the independence of Magas, whose daughter Berenice was betrothed to Ptolemy's son. He was involved in a war against Antiochus I., king of Syria, and his son, Antiochus II. Hostilities were often suspended and renewed without any important battle; and the war was ended by a treaty in 249 B.C., when Antiochus II. married Berenice, a daughter of Ptolemy.

The fame of Ptolemy II. depends less on his military exploits and his talents for administration, than on his patronage of literature, science and art, in which respect he surpassed his father. He founded at Alexandria a great library, and a literary institution called the Museum, in which many philosophers and scholars lived and studied. His library was the largest and most celebrated library of antiquity. Hebrew Scriptures were translated into Greek by his command at his expense. According to tradition, this translation

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