Battle of Raphia

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The Battle of Raphia, also known as the Battle of Gaza, was a battle of the Syrian Wars fought on 22 June 217 BC near modern Rafah between forces of Ptolemy IV of Egypt and Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom. Ptolemy had 70,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry, and 73 war elephants Antiochus had 62,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry, and 103 elephants,.

Ptolemy's elephants were largely African Forest Elephants; those of Antiochjus were (mainly the large Syrian Elephants. At this time war elephants were exclusively supplied from India. To maintain their monopoly over the industry the Indians only exported male elephants. Ptolemy, who had no access to Indian elephants, may have used smaller African Forest elephants, or may have trained female elephants.

The kings split their elephants between the wings of their army. Antiochus began winning at the beginning of the battle when Antiochus's larger elephants drove off Ptolemy's elephants. Each army's right wing defeated the opposing left wing and drove it from the field, leaving the Ptolemaic phalanx to defeat the Seleucid infantry.

Ptolemy's victory kept the province of Syria for Egypt, but it was only a brief respite; at the Battle of Panium in 198 BC Antiochus defeated the army of Ptolemy's young son, Ptolemy V and captured Syria and Judea.

Ptolemy owed his victory in part to having a well equipped and trained native Egyptian Phalanx which for the first time formed a large proportion of his phalangites (exactly how much is subject to academic dispute). Also, the Seleucid elephants are recorded to have panicked and fled the battle according to some sources. The self confidence the Egyptians gained was credited by Polybius as one of the causes of the secession in 207-186 of Upper Egypt under pharaohs Hugronaphor and Ankmachis, who created a separate kingdom that lasted nearly twenty years.

The battle of Raphia marked a turning-point in Ptolemaic history. The growth in influence of the native Egyptian element in second-century Ptolemaic administration and culture, at first in the financial pressure aggravated by the cost of the war itself. The stele that recorded the convocation of priests at Memphis in November 217, to give thanks for the victory was inscribed in Greek and hieroglyphic and demotic Egyptian: in it, for the first time, Ptolemy is given full pharaonic honours in the Greek as well as the Egyptian texts; subsequently this became the norm.

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Last updated on Friday February 08, 2008 at 03:25:06 PST (GMT -0800)
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