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First Syrian War (274–271) A
decade into his rule, Ptolemy II faced Antiochus I, the Seleucid king who was
trying to expand his empire's holdings in Syria and Anatolia. Ptolemy proved to
be a forceful ruler and skilled general. In addition, his recent marriage to
his court-wise sister Arsinoe II of Egypt had stabilized the volatile Egyptian
court, allowing Ptolemy to successfully carry out the campaign. The First
Syrian War was a major victory for the Ptolemies. Antiochus took the Ptolemaic
controlled areas in coastal Syria and southern Anatolia in his initial rush.
Ptolemy reconquered these territories by 271, extending Ptolemaic rule as far
as Caria and into most of Cilicia. With Ptolemy's eye focused eastward, his
half-brother Magas declared his province of Cyrenaica to be independent. It
would remain independent until 250, when it was reabsorbed into the Ptolemaic
Kingdom: but not before having triggered a sequence of Ptolemaic and Seleucid
court intrigues, war and ultimately leading to the marriage of Theos and
Berenice
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