by
Damien F. Mackey
“When the king [Antiochus] came to Tyre …”.
2 Maccabees 4:44
Introduction
The tyrannical Seleucid king, Antiochus ‘Epiphanes’ so-called IV, when extended with his alter ego, as the Grecophile (Graeculus) emperor Hadrian, strikingly ticks some, at least, of the prophet Ezekiel’s main boxes concerning the fallen King of Tyre.
For Antiochus ‘Epiphanes’:
• Was associated with the city of Tyre.
• He, despite his bright start, became more and more corrupt and violent.
• He was immensely wealthy, and he built on a gargantuan scale.
• He stood in Eden (Jerusalem), in the Temple of Yahweh;
• Accompanied by an anointed cherub, the priest Menelaus.
• He began to imagine himself as a god.
• His fall was sudden and dreadful.
Let us consider these several points in turn:
1. Associated with Tyre
“Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre …”
Ezekiel 28:2
“Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre …”.
Ezekiel 28:12
2 Maccabees 4:18-20:
Once when the king [Antiochus] was present for the athletic games that were held every five years in the city of Tyre, that worthless Jason sent some men there from Jerusalem, who were also enrolled as citizens of Antioch, to take 22,500 pounds of silver to pay for a sacrifice to the god Hercules. But even these men did not think it was fitting to use such a large sum of money for a sacrifice, and so the money originally intended as a sacrifice to Hercules was used for the construction of warships.
2 Maccabees 4:44:
“When the king [Antiochus] came to Tyre …”.
And, regarding the emperor Hadrian’s strong associations with Tyre
https://bibliotecanatalie.com/f/following-hadrian-to-tyre?blogcategory=Ancient
…. On his way back to Ephesus, sometime between 130 and 131 CE [sic], Hadrian went to Tyre (Tyrus or Sur in modern-day Lebanon).
Hadrian might have been in the city around January, celebrating his 54th birthday!
The Emperor was accompanied by a long entourage representing the Roman government.
This probably included his wife and her staff, imperial secretaries, personal friends and advisors, officials, servants, guards, architects, craftsmen, and also men of letters.
Documentary sources reveal that extensive preparations were required many months in advance.
A papyrus attests that a large supply of food, including 372 suckling pigs and 2,000 sheep, as well as dates, barley, olives, and olive oil, were ordered for Hadrian's travel in 130 CE.
….
AL-BASS SITE IN LEBANON
The triumphal arch in the Al Bass site of Tyre (Arabic: sour) was erected to honor Hadrian's arrival. The monument is twenty-one meters high with a core made of sandstone.
Originally, it was covered with plaster. A small fragment proves that the arch was once painted in various colors. It was one of the formal gateways to the city.
The Al-Bass archaeological area consists of an extensive necropolis, a three-bay monumental arch, and one of the largest Roman hippodromes ever found. They have different dates from the 2nd century to the 6th century AD.
On both sides of Hadrian's arch are smaller gates for pedestrians. Back in those days, a wall above these small arches was used. This was high and probably had niches for statues.
The two sides had large guard rooms. The southern room was paved with normal stones. In the northern room, mosaic remains are still visible.
The presence of these guard rooms suggests that the large arch was placed at Tyre's outer border.
Two levels of the road that lead to the Tower of Pagan King Hiram in Tyre's center are still visible. These were paved later in the Byzantine period.
The Roman road at the west of Hadrian's Arch has an upper layer with remains of the Byzantine era. It is paved with large limestone blocks.
Traces of the chariot wheels are still visible on the road. Various Greek games and chariot racing (the Actia Heraclia and the Olympia) took place every four years in the nearby hippodrome of Tyre.
[Cf. 2 Maccabees 4:18: “Once when the king [Antiochus] was present for the athletic games that were held every five years in the city of Tyre …”].
This Roman road is bordered on each side by a Doric colonnade. It has a convex shape with two smaller channels for collecting rainwater set on both sides.
Another paving belongs to a Byzantine Pedestrian road. This gives access to several shops in the southern part of the site. The remains of these shops were discovered under the arches of the aqueduct.
….
The Byzantine road runs along a distance of more than 300 meters and is paved with well-preserved limestone slabs and a necropolis on both sides. It reaches the foot of Hadrian's arch. ….
Hadrian, in fact, called Tyre a Metropolis, “Great City”, Mother of other cities.
2. Potentially good king turned bad?
“You were blameless in your ways
from the day you were created,
till unrighteousness was found in you”.
Ezekiel 28:15
https://www.quora.com/Hadrian-is-deemed-one-of-the-five-good-emperors-but-is-he-really-that-good-He-abandoned-lots-of-territories-conquered-by-Trajan-for-no-reason-and-those-territories-have-caused-trouble-for-the-Roman-empire-later-on
“Hadrian is deemed one of the five good emperors but is he really that good?”
https://www.romanemperors.com/hadrian.htm
“Historical accounts portray Hadrian as a complex individual, with a love for the arts and a passion for travel. He was also known for his temper and paranoia, particularly towards the end of his life. These complexities add to the intrigue surrounding this multifaceted emperor”.
1 Maccabees 1:16-19:
When Antiochus saw that his kingdom was established, he determined to become king of the land of Egypt, in order that he might reign over both kingdoms. So he invaded Egypt with a strong force, with chariots and elephants and cavalry and with a large fleet. He engaged King Ptolemy of Egypt in battle, and Ptolemy turned and fled before him, and many were wounded and fell. They captured the fortified cities in the land of Egypt, and he plundered the land of Egypt.
King Antiochus actually wept over the murder of the pious Jewish High Priest, Onias:
2 Maccabees 4:36-38:
When the king returned from the region of Cilicia, the Jews of the city, together with the Greeks who detested the crime, went to see him about the murder of Onias. Antiochus was deeply grieved and full of pity; he wept as he recalled the prudence and noble conduct of the deceased.
Inflamed with anger, he immediately stripped Andronicus of his purple robe, tore off his garments, and had him led through the whole city to the very place where he had committed the outrage against Onias; and there he put the murderer to death. Thus the Lord rendered him the punishment he deserved.
But it all went seriously downhill after that.
Antiochus Persecutes the Jews
2 Maccabees 5:11-14:
When these happenings were reported to the king, he thought that Judea was in revolt. Raging like a wild animal, he set out from Egypt and took Jerusalem by storm.
He ordered his soldiers to cut down without mercy those whom they met and to slay those who took refuge in their houses.
There was a massacre of young and old, a killing of women and children, a slaughter of young women and infants.
In the space of three days, eighty thousand were lost, forty thousand meeting a violent death, and the same number being sold into slavery.
2 Maccabees 7:1-9:
{Jewish legend actually replaces King Antiochus in this incident with Hadrian.
Conversely, there was an Antiochus ‘Epiphanes’ at about the time of Hadrian}
It also happened that seven brothers with their mother were arrested and tortured with whips and scourges by the king to force them to eat pork in violation of God’s law.
One of the brothers, speaking for the others, said: “What do you expect to learn by questioning us? We are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors.”
At that the king, in a fury, gave orders to have pans and caldrons heated.
These were quickly heated, and he gave the order to cut out the tongue of the one who had spoken for the others, to scalp him and cut off his hands and feet, while the rest of his brothers and his mother looked on.
When he was completely maimed but still breathing, the king ordered them to carry him to the fire and fry him. As a cloud of smoke spread from the pan, the brothers and their mother encouraged one another to die nobly, with these words:
“The Lord God is looking on and truly has compassion on us, as Moses declared in his song, when he openly bore witness, saying, ‘And God will have compassion on his servants.’”
After the first brother had died in this manner, they brought the second to be made sport of. After tearing off the skin and hair of his head, they asked him, “Will you eat the pork rather than have your body tortured limb by limb?”
Answering in the language of his ancestors, he said, “Never!” So he in turn suffered the same tortures as the first.
With his last breath he said: “You accursed fiend, you are depriving us of this present life, but the King of the universe will raise us up to live again forever, because we are dying for his laws.” ….
And so on it goes. (Read in full this inspiring chapter 7).
1 Maccabees 1:20-64:
In the year 143, after the conquest of Egypt, Antiochus marched with a great army against the land of Israel and the city of Jerusalem.
In his arrogance, he entered the Temple and took away the gold altar, the lampstand with all its equipment, the table for the bread offered to the Lord, the cups and bowls, the gold fire pans, the curtain, and the crowns.
He also stripped all the gold from the front of the Temple and carried off the silver and gold and everything else of value, including all the treasures that he could find stored there. Then he took it all to his own country. He had also murdered many people and boasted arrogantly about it. There was great mourning everywhere in the land of Israel.
Rulers and leaders groaned in sorrow.
Young men and young women grew weak.
The beauty of our women faded.
Every bridegroom sang a funeral song,
and every bride sat mourning in her room.
All our people were clothed with shame,
and our land trembled for them.
Two years later Antiochus sent a large army from Mysia against the towns of Judea. When the soldiers entered Jerusalem, their commander spoke to the people, offering them terms of peace and completely deceiving them. Then he suddenly launched a fierce attack on the city, dealing it a major blow and killing many of the people. He plundered the city, set it on fire, and tore down its buildings and walls. He and his army took the women and children as prisoners and seized the cattle.
Then Antiochus and his forces built high walls and strong towers in the area north of the Temple, turning it into a fort. They brought in a group of traitorous Jews and installed them there. They also brought in arms and supplies and stored in the fort all the loot that they had taken in Jerusalem. This fort became a great threat to the city.
The fort was a threat to the Temple,
a constant, evil menace for Israel.
Innocent people were murdered around the altar;
the Holy Place was defiled by murderers.
The people of Jerusalem fled in fear,
and the city became a colony of foreigners.
Jerusalem was foreign to its own people,
who had been forced to abandon the city.
Her Temple was as empty as a wilderness;
her festivals were turned into days of mourning,
her Sabbath joy into shame.
Her honor became an object of ridicule.
Her shame was as great as her former glory,
and her pride was turned into deepest mourning.
Antiochus now issued a decree that all nations in his empire should abandon their own customs and become one people. All the Gentiles and even many of the Israelites submitted to this decree. They adopted the official pagan religion, offered sacrifices to idols, and no longer observed the Sabbath.
The king also sent messengers with a decree to Jerusalem and all the towns of Judea, ordering the people to follow customs that were foreign to the country.
He ordered them not to offer burnt offerings, grain offerings, or wine offerings in the Temple, and commanded them to treat Sabbaths and festivals as ordinary work days. They were even ordered to defile the Temple and the holy things in it. They were commanded to build pagan altars, temples, and shrines, and to sacrifice pigs and other unclean animals there. They were forbidden to circumcise their sons and were required to make themselves ritually unclean in every way they could, so that they would forget the Law which the Lord had given through Moses and would disobey all its commands. The penalty for disobeying the king's decree was death.
The king not only issued the same decree throughout his whole empire, but he also appointed officials to supervise the people and commanded each town in Judea to offer pagan sacrifices.
Many of the Jews were ready to forsake the Law and to obey these officials. They defiled the land with their evil, and their conduct forced all true Israelites to hide wherever they could.
On the fifteenth day of the month of Kislev in the year 145, King Antiochus set up The Awful Horror on the altar of the Temple, and pagan altars were built in the towns throughout Judea. Pagan sacrifices were offered in front of houses and in the streets. Any books of the Law which were found were torn up and burned, and anyone who was caught with a copy of the sacred books or who obeyed the Law was put to death by order of the king. Month after month these wicked people used their power against the Israelites caught in the towns.
On the twenty-fifth of the month, these same evil people offered sacrifices on the pagan altar erected on top of the altar in the Temple. Mothers who had allowed their babies to be circumcised were put to death in accordance with the king's decree. Their babies were hung around their necks, and their families and those who had circumcised them were put to death. But many people in Israel firmly resisted the king's decree and refused to eat food that was ritually unclean. They preferred to die rather than break the holy covenant and eat unclean food—and many did die. In his anger God made Israel suffer terribly.
3. Antiochus accumulated immense wealth
By your wisdom and understanding
you have gained wealth for yourself
and amassed gold and silver
in your treasuries.
By your great skill in trading
you have increased your wealth,
and because of your wealth
your heart has grown proud.
Ezekiel 28:4-5
Daniel 11:38-39, 42-43:
[The king] will honor a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his ancestors he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him. He will make them rulers over many people and will distribute the land at a price.
…
He will extend his power over many countries; Egypt will not escape. He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt, with the Libyans and Cushites in submission.
https://learn.hopechannel.com/au/read/hadrian-saviour-of-the-empire
“Hadrian was keen to inform rulers of cities, kingdoms and empires beyond the Empire of Rome’s economic credentials too. Once, when the king of Parthia sent Hadrian a gift of gold-embroidered cloaks, Hadrian made light of this by sending 300 criminals into the arena to fight to the death wearing similar gold-embroidered cloaks.
Not surprisingly, the rulers of the kingdoms outside the Roman Empire rushed to Hadrian’s court in order to become friends and to sample Rome’s wealth for themselves, including those as far away as the Caspian Sea, and Bactria in present-day Pakistan”.
The king’s wisdom in trading and financial dealing was, however, of an earthly kind, which Ezekiel mockingly measures against the true, infused wisdom of Daniel (28:3-4): “… you are indeed wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you;
by your wisdom and your understanding you have made wealth for yourself and amassed gold and silver in your treasuries”.
This is the kind of wisdom that the Apostle James will call “demonic” (James 3:13-18):
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
The prophet Ezekiel is, in chapters 26-28, marvellously recalling the history of Tyre, from its halçyon early days (under Hiram) through its spectacular growth in wealth and power, based on canny trading wisdom, to its crashing fall under Alexander’s regime, all the while paralleling against this the rise and fall of one of its great rulers.
And brilliantly underlying this literal history of Tyre and its rulers is an allegorical theme of the rise and fall of Adam. All of that can make it quite complex to interpret.
Later the Edenic serpent will enter the scene as well, as a fallen cherub.
4. Stood in Eden (Jerusalem), in the Temple of Yahweh
“You were in Eden, the garden of God …”.
Ezekiel 28:13
Daniel 11:29-32:
Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant.
His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.
2 Maccabees 5:16-17:
[Antiochus] laid his impure hands on the sacred vessels and swept up with profane hands the votive offerings made by other kings for the advancement, the glory, and the honor of the place.
Antiochus became puffed up in spirit, not realizing that it was because of the sins of the city’s inhabitants that the Sovereign Lord was angry for a little while: hence the disregard of the place.
5. Accompanied by an anointed cherub
“With an anointed cherub as guardian I placed you …”.
Ezekiel 28:14
2 Maccabees 4:50:
But Menelaus, thanks to the greed of those in power, remained in office, where he grew in wickedness, scheming greatly against his fellow citizens.
2 Maccabees 5:15:
Not satisfied with this, the king dared to enter the holiest temple in the world; Menelaus, that traitor both to the laws and to his country, served as guide [to the king].
2 Maccabees 4:23-29:
Menelaus as High Priest
Three years later Jason sent Menelaus, brother of the aforementioned Simon, to deliver the money to the king, and to complete negotiations on urgent matters.
But after his introduction to the king, he flattered him with such an air of authority that he secured the high priesthood for himself, outbidding Jason by three hundred talents of silver.
He returned with the royal commission, but with nothing that made him worthy of the high priesthood; he had the temper of a cruel tyrant and the rage of a wild beast.
So Jason, who had cheated his own brother and now saw himself cheated by another man, was driven out as a fugitive to the country of the Ammonites.
But Menelaus, who obtained the office, paid nothing of the money he had promised to the king, in spite of the demand of Sostratus, the commandant of the citadel, whose duty it was to collect the taxes. For this reason, both were summoned before the king.
Menelaus left his brother Lysimachus as his deputy in the high priesthood, while Sostratus left Crates, commander of the Cypriots.
….
2 Maccabees 4:32-35:
Murder of Onias
Menelaus, for his part, thinking this a good opportunity, stole some gold vessels from the temple and presented them to Andronicus; he had already sold other vessels in Tyre and in the neighboring cities.
When Onias had clear evidence, he accused Menelaus publicly, after withdrawing to the inviolable sanctuary at Daphne, near Antioch.
Thereupon Menelaus approached Andronicus privately and urged him to seize Onias. So Andronicus went to Onias, treacherously reassuring him by offering his right hand in oath, and persuaded him, in spite of his suspicions, to leave the sanctuary. Then, with no regard for justice, he immediately put him to death.
As a result, not only the Jews, but many people of other nations as well, were indignant and angry over the unjust murder of the man.
…
2 Maccabees 4:39-5o:
More Outrages
Many acts of sacrilege had been committed by Lysimachus in the city* with the connivance of Menelaus. When word spread, the people assembled in protest against Lysimachus, because a large number of gold vessels had been stolen.
As the crowds, now thoroughly enraged, began to riot, Lysimachus launched an unjustified attack against them with about three thousand armed men under the leadership of a certain Auranus, a man as advanced in folly as he was in years.
Seeing Lysimachus’ attack, people picked up stones, pieces of wood or handfuls of the ashes lying there and threw them in wild confusion at Lysimachus and his men.
As a result, they wounded many of them and even killed a few, while they put all to flight. The temple robber himself they killed near the treasury.
Charges about this affair were brought against Menelaus.
When the king came to Tyre, three men sent by the senate pleaded the case before him.
But Menelaus, seeing himself on the losing side, promised Ptolemy, son of Dorymenes, a substantial sum of money if he would win the king over.
So Ptolemy took the king aside into a colonnade, as if to get some fresh air, and persuaded him to change his mind.
Menelaus, who was the cause of all the trouble, the king acquitted of the charges, while he condemned to death those poor men who would have been declared innocent even if they had pleaded their case before Scythians.
Thus, those who had prosecuted the case on behalf of the city, the people, and the sacred vessels, quickly suffered unjust punishment.
For this reason, even Tyrians, detesting the crime, provided sumptuously for their burial.
But Menelaus, thanks to the greed of those in power, remained in office, where he grew in wickedness, scheming greatly against his fellow citizens.
6. Imagining himself as a god
“Because your heart is proud,
and you have said, ‘I am a god,
I sit in the seat of the gods,
in the heart of the seas,’
yet you are but a man, and no god,
though you make your heart like the heart of a god”
Ezekiel 28:2
“Because you make your heart
like the heart of a god,
therefore, behold, I will bring foreigners upon you,
the most ruthless of the nations;
and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom
and defile your splendor”.
Ezekiel 28:6-7
2 Maccabees 5:17-21:
Antiochus became puffed up in spirit, not realizing that it was because of the sins of the city’s inhabitants that the Sovereign Lord was angry for a little while: hence the disregard of the place.
If they had not become entangled in so many sins, this man, like that Heliodorus sent by King Seleucus to inspect the treasury, would have been flogged and turned back from his presumptuous act as soon as he approached.
The Lord, however, had not chosen the nation for the sake of the place, but the place for the sake of the nation.
Therefore, the place itself, having shared in the nation’s misfortunes, afterward participated in their good fortune; and what the Almighty had forsaken in wrath was restored in all its glory, once the great Sovereign Lord became reconciled.
Antiochus carried off eighteen hundred talents from the Temple and hurried back to Antioch, thinking in his arrogance that he could make the land navigable and the sea passable on foot, so carried away was he with pride.
Daniel 11:36-37:
The King Who Exalts Himself
The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place. He will show no regard for the gods of his ancestors or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all.
On this theme of emperor deification I recommend Barbara Burrell’s insightful article:
Temples of Hadrian, not Zeus
(17) Temples of Hadrian, not Zeus
THE EMPEROR HADRIAN was notably generous toward the cities of his Empire, and in return, they gave him the highest honors of which they were capable, including temples to his worship.
I consider here three cities of the province Asia: Kyzikos, Smyrna, and Ephesos, each of which Hadrian allowed to build such a temple and to take the title neokoros, "temple warden."
Recent studies, however, have assumed that wherever Hadrian was worshipped, it was along with,
or in the guise of, Zeus Olympios, as he possibly was in Athens. In this paper I argue that the
primary sources on Kyzikos, Smyrna, or Ephesos show that Hadrian was worshipped in
those places neither with nor as Zeus.
7. A disgusting, horrific, sudden death
“Your heart became proud
on account of your beauty,
and you corrupted your wisdom
because of your splendor.
So I threw you to the earth;
I made a spectacle of you before kings.
By your many sins and dishonest trade
you have desecrated your sanctuaries.
So I made a fire come out from you,
and it consumed you,
and I reduced you to ashes on the ground
in the sight of all who were watching.
All the nations who knew you
are appalled at you;
you have come to a horrible end
and will be no more”.
Ezekiel 28:17-19
Daniel 11:45:
He will pitch his royal tents between the seas at the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.
2 Maccabees 9:1-29:
The Lord Punishes Antiochus
About this time Antiochus was retreating in disorder from Persia, where he had entered the city of Persepolis and had attempted to rob a temple and take control of the city. The people took up arms and attacked Antiochus, forcing his army to retreat in disgrace. When he reached Ecbatana, he was told what had happened to the forces of Nicanor and Timothy. He became furious and decided to make the Jews pay for the defeat he had suffered. So he ordered his chariot driver not to stop until they reached Jerusalem. With great arrogance he said,
I will turn Jerusalem into a graveyard full of Jews.
But he did not know that he was heading straight for God's judgment. In fact, as soon as he had said these words, the all-seeing Lord, the God of Israel, struck him down with an invisible but fatal blow. He was seized with sharp intestinal pains for which there was no relief— a fitting punishment for the man who had tortured others in so many terrible ways! But this in no way caused him to give up his pride. Instead he became more arrogant than ever, and breathing out fiery threats against the Jews, he gave orders to drive even faster. As a result he fell out of his chariot with such a thud that it made every bone in his body ache. His arrogant pride made him think he had the superhuman strength to make ocean waves obey him and to weigh high mountains on a pair of scales. But suddenly he fell flat on the ground and had to be carried off on a stretcher, a clear sign to everyone of God's power. Even the eyes of this godless man were crawling with worms and he lived in terrible pain and agony. The stink was so bad that his entire army was sickened, and no one was able to come close enough to carry him around. Yet only a short while before, he thought he could take hold of the stars.
Antiochus Makes a Promise to God
Antiochus was deeply depressed and suffered constant pain because of the punishment that God had brought on him, so he finally came to his senses and gave up his arrogant pride. Then, when he could no longer endure his own stink, he said,
It is right that all mortals should be subject to God and not think that they are his equal. The time of the Lord's mercy had come to an end for Antiochus, but this worthless man made the Lord a promise: I once intended to level Jerusalem to the ground and make that holy city a graveyard full of Jews, he said,
but now I declare it a free city. I had planned to throw out the dead bodies of the Jews and their children for the wild animals and the birds to eat, for I did not consider them worth burying. But now I intend to grant them the same privileges as the citizens of Athens enjoy. I once looted the Temple and took its sacred utensils, but I will fill it with splendid gifts and with better utensils than before, and I will pay the cost of the sacrifices from my own resources. Besides all this, I will become a Jew myself and go wherever people live, telling them of God's power.
Antiochus’ Letter to the Jews
Antiochus was in despair and could find no relief from his pain, because God was punishing him as he deserved, so he wrote the following letter to the Jews:
King Antiochus to the Jews, my most distinguished subjects. Warm greetings and best wishes for your health and prosperity.
I hope that you and your families are in good health and that all goes well with you. My hope is in God, and I remember with a deep sense of joy the respect and kindness that you have shown me.
On my way home from Persia I fell violently ill, and so I thought it best to begin making plans for the general welfare of the people. I have not given up hopes of getting well; in fact I am fully confident that I will recover. But I recall that my father used to appoint a successor whenever he went on a military campaign east of the Euphrates. He did this so that if something unexpected happened, or if some bad news came back, then his subjects would not be afraid, for they knew who had been left in command. Also, I know how the rulers along the frontiers of my kingdom are constantly on the lookout for any opportunity that may come along. That is why I have appointed my son Antiochus to succeed me as king. I have frequently entrusted him to your care and recommended him to you when I went on my regular visits to the provinces east of the Euphrates. (He is receiving a copy of the letter which follows.) Now I strongly urge each of you to keep in mind the good things that I have done for you, both individually and as a nation, and to continue in your good will toward me and my son. I am confident that he will treat you with fairness and kindness, just as I have always done.
And so, this murderer, who had cursed God, suffered the same terrible agonies he had brought on others, and then died a miserable death in the mountains of a foreign land. One of his close friends, Philip, took his body home; but, because he was afraid of Antiochus’ son, he went on to King Ptolemy Philometor of Egypt.
