kings, would always regard the throne as vacant, whilft filled only by a princess, and that they would not fail to offer it to any prince that should fet up for it. She therefore caufed her other fon Antiochus to return from Athens, whither fhe had fent him for his education, and ordered him to be declared king as foon as he arrived, But that was no more than an empty title. She gave. him no fhare in the affairs of government; and as that prince was very young, being no more than twenty years of age, he fuffered her to govern for fome time. with patience enough. To diftinguifh him from the other princes of the name of Antiochus, he was generally. alled by the furname of *Grypus, taken from his great nofe. Jofephus calls him Philometor; but that prince in his medals took the title of Epiphanes.

P Zebina having well established himself after the death of Demetrius Nicator, in the poffeffion of part of the Syrian empire, Phyfcon, who looked upon him as his creature, infifted upon his doing him homage for it. Zebina refufed in direct terms to comply with that demand. Phyfcon refolved to throw him down as he had fet him up, and having accommodated all differences with his niece Cleopatra, he fent a confiderable army to the affiftance of Grypus, and gave him his daughter Tryphena in marriage. Grypus, by the means of this aid, defeated Zebina, and obliged him to retire to Antioch. The latter formed a defign of plundering the temple of Jupiter, to defray the expences of the war. Upon its being difcovered, the inhabitants rofe, and drove him out of the city. He wandered fome time about the country from place to place, but was taken at laft and put to death.

After the defeat and death of Zebina, Antiochus Grypus believing himfelf of fufficient years, refolved to take the government upon himfelf. The ambitious Cleopatra, who faw her power diminifhed, and grandeur eclipfed by that means, could not fuffer it. To render herfelf

PA. M. 3882. J. C. 122. A. M. 3884. Ant. J. C. 120.
*гpurès in Greek fignifies a man with an aquiline nofe.

herself abfolute mistress of the government of Syria again, the refolved to rid herself of Grypus, as the had already. done of his brother Seleucus, and to give the crown to another of her fons by Antiochus Sidetes, under whom, being an infant, fhe was in hopes of poffeffing the royal anthority for many years, and of taking fuch measures as might establish her in it during her life. This wickedwoman prepared a poisoned draught for that purpose, which the prefented to Grypus one day as he returned very hot from fome exercife. But that prince having been apprised of her defign, defired her firft, by way of refpect, to drink the cup herself, and upon her obftinate refufal to do it, having called in fome witneffes, he gave her to underftand, that the only means fhe had to clear herself of the fufpicion conceived of her, was to drink the liquor she had prefented to him. That unhappy woman, who found herself without evasion or refource, swallowed the draught. The poifon had its effect immediately, and delivered Syria from a monfter, who by her unheard-of crimes, had been fo long the fcourge of the ftate. She had been the wife of three * kings of Syria, and the mother of four. She had occafion the death of two of her husbands, and as to her children, the had murdered one with her own hands, and would have destroyed Grypus by the poifon he made her drink herfelf. That prince afterwards applied himself with fuccefs to the affairs of -the public, and reigned several years in peace and tranquillity, till his brother Antiochus of Cyzicum, occafioned the troubles we shall relate hereafter.

Ptolemy Phyfcon, king of Egypt,' after having reigned twenty-nine years from the death of her brother Philometor, died at last in Alexandria. No reign was ever more tyrannical, nor abounded more with crimes than his.

A. M. 3887. Ant. J. C. 117. Porphyr. in Græc. Eufeb. Scal. Hieron. in Dan. ix.

*The three kings of Syria, who had been her husbands were Alexander Bala, Demetrius Nicator, and Antiochus Sidetes. Her four fons wese Antiochus, by Alexander Bala; Selencus and Antiochus Grypus by Demetrius; and Antiochus the Cyzicenian, by Antiochus Sidates.

2

a

SECT. VI. Ptolemy Lathyrus fucceeds Phyfcon. War between Grypus and his brother Antiochus of Cyzicum, for the kingdom of Syria. Hyrcanus fortifies himself in Judaa. His death. Ariftobulus fucceeds him, and ffumes the title of king. He is fucceeded by Alexander Jannaus. Cleopatra drives Lathyrus out of Egypt, and places Alexander his youngest brother on the throne in his fead. War between that princefs and her fons. Death of Grypus. Ptolemy Apion leaves the kingdom of Cyrenaica to the Romans. Continuation of the wars in Syria and Egypt. The Syrians choofe Tygranes king. Lathyrus is re-established upon the throne of Egypt. He dies. Alexander his nephew fucceeds him. Nicomedes king of Bithynia, makes the Roman people his

heirs.

PHYSCON sat his death left three fons.

The firft

named Apion, was a natural fon, whom he had by a concubine. The two others were legitimate, and the children of his niece Cleopatra, whom he married after having repudiated her mother. The eldeft was called Lathyrus, and the other Alexander.

He left the kingdom of Cyrenaica by will to Apion, and Egypt to his widow Cleopatra, and to which of his two fons fhe fhould think fit to choofe. Cleopatra believing that Alexander would be the most complaifant, refolved to choofe him; but the people would not fuffer the eldeft to lofe his right of birth, and obliged the queen to recall him from Cyprus, whether fhe had caufed him to be banished by his father, and to affociate him with her on the throne.. Before fhe would fuffer him to take poffeffion of the crown, the obliged him to repudiate his eldeft fifter Cleopatra, whom he paflionately loved, and to take Selena, his youngest sister, for whom he had no inclination.

A. M. 3887. Ant. J. C.17. Juftin. . xxxix. c. 4, 5. Appian. in Mithrid. fub finem & in Syr. p. 132. Strab. I. xvii. p. 795. Plin. 1. i. 6&4. vi c. 3o. Porphyr in Græc. Eufeb. Scalig. Jofeph. Antiq. 1. xiii. 18. Diods in Excerpt, Valef. p. 385. 1. 2

inclination. Difpofitions of this kind promise no very pacific reign.

*

t At his coronation he took the title of Soter. Some authors give him that of Philometor; but the generality of hiftorians diflinguifh him by the name of Lathyrus. However, as that is but a kind of nick-name, nobody dared to give it him in his own time.

Antiochus Grypus, king of Syria, was making preparations for invading Judæa, when a civil war broke out to employ him, fomented by Antiochus of Cyzicum, his brother by the mother's fide. He was the fon of Antiochus Sidetes, and born whilft Demetrius was prifoner amongst the Parthians. When Demetrius returned, and repoffeffed himself of his dominions after the death of Antiochus Sidetes, his mother, out of regard to his fafety, had fent him to Cyzicum, a city fituate upon the Propontis, in Myfia Minor, where he was educated by the care of a faithful eunuch, named Craterus, to whom fhe had entrusted him. From thence he was called the Cyzicenian. Grypus, to whom he gave umbrage, was for having him poifoned. His defign was difcovered, and the Cyzicenian was reduced to take up arms in his own defence, and to endeavour to make good his pretenfions to the crown of Syria.

"Cleopatra, whom Lathyrus had been obliged to repudiate, finding herfelf at hier own difpofal, married the Cyzicenian. She brought him an † army for her dowry, to affift him against his competitor. Their forces by that means being very near equal, the two brothers came to a battle, in which the Cyzicenian having the misfortune to be defeated, retired to Antioch. He left his wife for

her

A. M. 3890. Ant. J. C. 114, A. M. 3891. Ant. J. C. 173.0 Aabugos fignifies a kind of pea, called in Latin cicer, from which came the furname of Cicero. Lathyrus (muft have had fomne very visible mark of this fort upon his face, or thefname had been inconfiftent.

We find in the latter editions of Justin the following words; exercitum Grypi follictatum, velut dotalem, ad maritum deducit; which fhows, that Cleopatra having fucceeded in corrupting part of Grypus's army, carried it to her hufband. Several editions read Cypri inftead of Grypi, which implies, that Cleopatra had an army in Cyprus.

her fecurity in that place, and went himself to raise new troops for the reinforcement of his army.

But Grypus immediately laid fiege to the city, and took it. Tryphena, his wife, was very earneft with him to put Cleopatra his prifoner into her hands. Though her fifter by father and mother, fhe was fo exceffively enraged at her for having married their enemy, and given him an army againft them, that she refolved to deprive her of life. Cleopatra had taken refuge in a fanctuary, which was held inviolable; Grypus would not have a complaifance for his wife, which he faw would be attended with fatal effects from the violence of her rage. He alledged to her the fanctity of the afylum where her fifler had taken refuge; and reprefented, that her death would neither be of ufe to them, nor of prejudice to the Cyzicenian. That in all the civil or foreign wars, wherein his ancestors had been engaged, it had never been known, after victory, that any cruelty had been exercifed against the women, efpecially fo near relations. That Cleopatra was her fifter, and his near * relation. That therefore he defired her to speak no more of her to him, because he could by no means confent to her being treated with any feverities. Tryphena, far from giving into his reafon, became more violent by conceiving jealouly; and imagining, that it was not from the motive of compaflion, but love, that her husband took the part of that unfortunate princefs in fuch a manner, the therefore fent foldiers into the temple, who could not tear her in any other manner from the alter, than by cutting off her hands with which the embraced it. Cleopatra expired, uttering a thousand curfes against the parricides who were the authors of her death, and imploring the god, in whofe fight fo barbarous a cruelty was committed, to avenge her upon them.

However, the other Cleopatra, the common mother of the two fifters, did not feem to be affected at all, with either

. Her father Phyfcon was the uncle of Cleopatra, Grypus's mother. + Sed quanto Grypus abnuit tanto furor muliebri pertinacia atcenditur rata non mifericordiæ hæc verba, fed amoris effe. JusTIN.