page_title: Ptolemy II Philadelphus
section_title: Reign
hierarchical_section_title: Ptolemy II Philadelphus / Reign
caption_attribution_description: Italiano: Sala delle Nozze Aldobrandini (Musei della biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana), esposizione temporanea (dicembre 2013) e collezione permanente
context_page_description: Ptolemy II Philadelphus was the pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt from 283 to 246 BCE. He was the son of Ptolemy I Soter, the Macedonian Greek general of Alexander the Great who founded the Ptolemaic Kingdom after the death of Alexander, and queen Berenice I, originally from Macedon in northern Greece.
  During Ptolemy II's reign, the material and literary splendour of the Alexandrian court was at its height. He promoted the Museum and Library of Alexandria. In addition to Egypt, Ptolemy's empire encompassed much of the Aegean and Levant. He pursued an aggressive and expansionist foreign policy with mixed success. From 275-271 BC, he led the Ptolemaic Kingdom against the rival Seleucid Empire in the First Syrian War and extended Ptolemaic power into Cilicia and Caria, but lost control of Cyrenaica after the defection of his half-brother Magas. In the Chremonidean War, Ptolemy confronted Antigonid Macedonia for control of the Aegean and suffered serious setbacks. This was followed by a Second Syrian War against the Seleucid empire, in which many of the gains from the first war were lost.
caption: Ptolemy II and Arsinoe II depicted on the Gonzaga Cameo in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg.
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