Cyprus and the defensive policy of Ptolemaic Egypt from Ptolemy IV Philopator to Ptolemy IX Lathyros (221-81 bc )

ABSTRACT: The turning point in the history of the Ptolemies is the abandonment of the naval and commercial hegemony in the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean at the time of Ptolemy IV Philopator. This fact constituted the preamble for the conscious defensive policy of Ptolemy V Epiphanes and Ptolemy VI Philometor. Egypt and Cyprus were not simply considered as united entities but as an untouchable interdependent axis. The more the Ptolemies pursued a policy of 'association' towards the natives in Egypt, the more the position of Cyprus (as the last stronghold on the outside of the Empire) became enhanced as the 'red line' and an effective 'rescue' refuge'. The military regime of Ptolemy VIII Physkon had the possession of Cyprus as a condition. By the time of Ptolemy IX Lathyrus, economic recovery was reached.