Ptolemy II Philadelphus

Ptolemy II Philadelphus
Bust of Ptolemy II, National Archaeological Museum, Naples
Pharaoh
King of the Ptolemaic Kingdom
Reign	28 March 284 – 28 January 246 BC
Predecessor	Ptolemy I
Successor	Ptolemy III
Royal titulary Horus name ḥwnw-ḳni Hunu qeni Brave youth[1] Nebty name wr-pḥty Wer pehty Great of strength[1] Golden Horus sḫꜤ-n-sw it.f Sekhaen su itef Whose father enthroned him[1] Prenomen  (Praenomen) wsr-kꜢ-rꜤ mrj-jmn Weserkare Meryamun The strong one of the ka of Ra, beloved of Amun[1] Nomen ptwꜢlwmys Petualumys Ptolemaios[1]
Consorts	Arsinoe I Arsinoe II
Children	With Arsinoe I: Ptolemy III Lysimachus Berenice, Queen of Syria With Bilistiche: Ptolemy Andromachou
Father	Ptolemy I
Mother	Berenice I
Born	c.309 BC Kos
Died	28 January 246 BC (aged 62–63)
Dynasty	Ptolemaic dynasty

Ptolemy II Philadelphus (Greek: Πτολεμαῖος Φιλάδελφος Ptolemaios Philadelphos, "Ptolemy, sibling-lover"; 309 – 28 January 246 BC) was the pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt from 284 to 246 BC. He was the son of Ptolemy I, 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 to 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 (c. 267–261 BC), Ptolemy confronted Antigonid Macedonia for control of the Aegean and suffered serious setbacks. This was followed by a Second Syrian War (260–253 BC) against the Seleucid empire, in which many of the gains from the first war were lost.