This book, a 2020 PhD dissertation in ancient history at Freiburg University, deals with Ptolemaic rule and engagement in southern Syria in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC. It aims at contextualizing the Syrian Wars between the Ptolemies and the Seleucids and in particular the strategies of the Ptolemies to establish rule in the Southern Levant in the 3rd century BC. The dissertation includes literary, epigraphic, numismatic and archaeological evidence. It is divided into three parts; part one deals with connectivity within the 3rd century BC Southern Levant, part two looks at the rivalry between Ptolemies and Seleucids and the Syrian Wars, and part three analyses the entanglement of imperial powers and local elites. The book is an important contribution to the study of the Hellenistic Southern Levant although sometimes it is long-winded with many quotations and lengthy discussion of previous research.
The volume starts with an introduction in which imperialism and the main research perspectives (connectivity – “Konnektivität”, rivalry – “Konkurrenz” and cooperation – “Kooperation”) are defined. Furthermore, historical toponymy is discussed, analyzing the terms Syria, Syria-Palestine, Syria-Phoenicia, Southern Levant and Koile Syria. Johannsen uses all these terms for an area covered today by the modern states of Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian Territories, Southwestern Syria and Western Jordan. This is an area which in the 3rd century BC was ruled by the Ptolemies and in the 2nd century BC mostly was controlled by the Seleucids before – starting with the Maccabean revolt – it more and more disintegrated.
Part I of the book looks at how Ptolemaic rule was organized in the Southern Levant. Johannsen first discusses the administration of the Ptolemies before he analyzes their city foundations in the region. Research hitherto has stressed that the Ptolemies only very little and very gently interfered in the settlement structure and the most important foundations were from the Seleucids. Johannsen corrects this picture and argues that three types of Ptolemaic foundations can be observed in the Southern Levant. The most important foundation was that of Akko-Ptolemais, which became an important Ptolemaic harbor city with a considerable size (approx. 200 ha). Johannsen even argues that this city was already founded by Ptolemy I and that it was meant to be a response and counterpart to the Seleucid foundation of Seleucia in Pieria in Northern Syria. A second group of foundations was initiated by Ptolemy II and they are inland such as Philoteria and Marisa, both of which were much smaller than Akko-Ptolemais but still settlements of considerable size. And, finally the third group – also initiated by Ptolemy II – are small military settlements West and East of the river Jordan such as Pella-Berenike, Philadelphia, Gadara, Abila and Scythopolis. This typology and chronological sequence are useful, but it also has to be mentioned that especially with the smaller settlement, we hardly have any archaeological evidence for the Ptolemaic period and therefore their characterization needs to be regarded as quite hypothetical. Johannsen, however, convincingly argues that all these settlements contributed to a considerable connectivity within this Ptolemaic realm, a connectivity which underlines that Ptolemaic impact was hitherto underestimated. The region now was not only a “land bridge” between Asia and Africa as in the Achaemenid period but became a transversally connected space within an imperial network and economy.
Part II focusses on aspects of rivalry between the Ptolemies and the Seleucids. In this part Johannsen argues that the Syrian Wars were not fought for just the Southern Levant but they were motivated by the universal claims of the two Hellenistic empires aiming at the antagonists’ centers: the Ptolemies targeting Antioch and the Seleucids attacking Alexandria. Johannsen discusses the Syrian Wars and highlights that peace treaties were always personal and usually after the kings who had concluded peace treaties had died, the wars again began. This, however, also implies that once a treaty was concluded, the partners could count on its validity. In this context, Johannsen also argues for the historicity of the dowry agreement in 194 BC between Antiochus III and the Ptolemies in which after the Seleucid conquest of the Southern Levant it was given back as a dowry to the Ptolemies. Even if one does not follow this suggestion, part II is an impressive narration of how entangled the two empires were, how much they knew about each other and how their claim to universal rule brought conflict, with the Southern Levant being the theater of several wars.
Part III deals with the entanglement between the local elites and the Ptolemies. Crucial in the Southern Levant were the Phoenician cities, and Johannsen argues that the old city monarchs lost their credibility after the conquest of Alexander the Great and vanished, being replaced by civic bodies. Johannsen stresses how important local elite agency was for ruling. He discusses some highly interesting cases of elite persons who navigated periods of transition (Johannsen calls them “Brückenakteure” or cultural brokers), persons who were able to translate the local to the imperial level and vice versa. First the sanctuaries of Ptolemaic Phoenicia are discussed, among them Umm al-Amed and Wasta. Then Johannsen turns to Philokles of Sidon, one of the most remarkable brokers whose stage was beyond Ptolemaic Phoenicia also reaching Thebes in Boeotia, elaborating on the cultural impact Phoenicia (and in his case in particular Sidon) had on the Greek world. Another important broker was Tobias, a Jewish ruler in Transjordan who was active under Ptolemy II and who is also mentioned in the Zenon Papyri. His family owned land in Transjordan and was closely related to the Ptolemies. His descendent Hyrkanus later fell because Antiochus IV did not respect any more the dowry agreement and the Southern Levant became Seleucid. Both Philokles and the Tobiads were themselves actors with personal agendas, but the success of the Ptolemaic empire relied on the ability of the Ptolemaic administration to integrate such brokers.
This is a useful work on the Hellenistic Levant and as a case study also contributes to the understanding of empires in general. Johannsen is able to relate his topic to broader questions in the research of historical empires and in particular to the works of the political scientist Herfried Münkler and modern historian Jürgen Osterhammel, who both have a strong impact on historical research in Germany. Their approach is to take a nuanced view of each imperial formation, which must be seen in its specific context, and to identify commonalities between empires that can be found across periods. The Ptolemaic Empire is one such empire, and its attempts to maintain its hold on the Levant in the 2nd century BC is a great case study of how empires work. The book is a welcome contribution to the study of imperialism and empires, and it is hoped that despite its long-winded German, it receives the international attention it deserves.