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THE PTOLEMAIC ARMY AND THE BATTLE OF BABYLON
In December 246 BC, 2,265 years ago this month, the larger part of the army of Ptolemaic Egypt and its king, Ptolemy III, could be found far, far from home, not far from modern Baghdad. It was the middle of the Third Syrian War. The Ptolemaic army was deep in Seleucid territory, pressing to extend early advantages with military conquests that took them city-by-city, and even street-by-street, through the great cities of Mesopotamia.
BACKGROUND: THE LAODIKEAN WAR
The war began when Laodice, the former queen of Antiochus II Theos, poisoned her husband, set her eldest son Seleucus II on the throne, and ordered an assassination attempt against Antiochus’ current queen Berenice and Berenice’s infant son. Berenice, however, not only survived the first attempt, but was also able to send a plea for help to her brother in Egypt, king Ptolemy.