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North And South


                Then the king of the North will invade the realm of the king of the South but will retreat to his own country. His sons will prepare for war and assemble a great army, which will sweep on like an irresistible flood and carry the battle as far as his fortress. 
          Then the king of the South will march out in a rage and fight against the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but it will be defeated. When the army is carried off, the king of the South will be filled with pride and will slaughter many thousands, yet he will not remain triumphant. 
          For the king of the North will muster another army, larger than the first; and after several years, he will advance with a huge army fully equipped. In those times many will rise against the king of the South. The violent men among your own people will rebel in fulfillment of the vision, but without success. Then the king of the North will come and build up siege ramps and will capture a fortified city. The forces of the South will be powerless to resist; even their best troops will not have the strength to stand. The invader will do as he pleases; no one will be able to stand against him. He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land and will have the power to destroy it.
      He will determine to come with the might of his entire kingdom and will make an alliance with the king of the South. And he will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plans will not succeed or help him. (Daniel 11:9-17)

          In the 230s BC, Seleucus II invaded Ptolemy's territory sufficiently to capture northern Syria and Phoenicia. He died in 226 BC and his son, Seleucus III (Soter) reigned for the next three years. Most of his imperial interest was in Asia Minor. His brother, Antiochus III (The Great) first suppressed a revolt in the eastern provinces when a trusted governor, Molon, set himself up as king in 220. After this, he invaded the Ptolemy empire, but  was defeated by Ptolemy IV's smaller army at Raphia.  After this, he turned his attention elsewhere.
          In 203, when Ptolemy IV died and his son, Ptolemy V (Epiphanes) was crowned at the age of four, Antiochus attacked again, and reached as far as Gaza. General Scopas, led Egyptian forces north. He punished all the leaders in Jerusalem and Judah who favored Antiochus. Then as war swept down on him, he was defeated at Panium (near Caeserea Philippi) in 200 BC. He retreated to Sidon (the "fortified city" of v 15.) When he surrendered to Antiochus III there, the Holy Land became part of the Seleucid Empire. 
          Antiochus III sent his daughter, Cleopatra, to Egypt to marry Ptolemy V in order to gain control over that empire. Once in Egypt, she joined the Ptolemaic cause against her father.
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