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The Battle of Raphia, also known as the
Battle of Gaza, was a battle fought on 22 June 217 near modern Rafah between
the forces of Ptolemy IV Philopator, king and pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt and
Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid Empire during the Syrian Wars. It was
one of the largest battles of the Hellenistic kingdoms and was one of the
largest battles of the ancient world. The battle was waged to determine the
sovereignty of Coele Syria.
Opponents: Ptolemaic Egypt versus Seleucid Empire
Commanders and leaders:
Egypt - Ptolemy IV
Seleucids - Antiochus III
Strength:
Ptolemy - 75,000: 70,000 infantry, 5,000 cavalry, 73 elephants
Antiochus - 68,000: 62,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry, 102 elephants
Casualties and losses:
Ptolemy - 2,200: 1,500 infantry, 700 horse, 16 elephants killed, almost 26
captured
Antiochus - 14,300: 10,000 infantry, 300 horse, and 5 elephants killed, 4,000
infantry captured
Prelude:
The two largest Hellenistic kingdoms in the 3rd century, Ptolemaic Egypt and
the Seleucid Empire, repeatedly fought for control of Syria in a series of
conflicts known as the Syrian Wars. The Fourth Syrian War began in 219, during
which time Ptolemaic Egypt was ruled by Ptolemy IV, and the Seleucid Empire was
ruled by Antiochus III the Great. In 217, both armies were on campaign through
Syria. The Seleucid and Ptolemaic armies met near the small Syrian town of
Rafah. Antiochus initially set up his camp at a distance of 10 (about 2 km) and
then only 5 stades (about 1 km) from his adversary's. The battle began with a
series of small skirmishes around the perimeter of each army. One night,
Theodotus the Aetolian, formerly an officer of Ptolemy, sneaked inside the
Ptolemaic camp and reached what he presumed to be the King's tent to
assassinate him; but he was absent and the plot failed.
Forces:
Seleucid Army:
Antiochus' army was composed of 5,000 lightly armed Daae, Carmanians, and
Cilicians under Byttacus the Macedonian, 10,000 Phalangites (the Argyraspides
or Silver Shields) under Theodotus the Aetolian, the man who had betrayed
Ptolemy and handed much of Coele Syria and Phoenicia over to Antiochus, 20,000
Macedonian Phalangites under Nicarchus and Theodotus Hemiolius, 2,000 Persian
and Agrianian archers and slingers with 2,000 Thracians under Menedemus of
Alabanda, 5,000 Medes, Cissians, Cadusii, and Carmanians under the Aspasianus
the Mede, 10,000 Arabians under Zabdibelus, 5,000 Greek mercenaries under
Hippolochus the Thessalian, 1,500 Cretans under Eurylochus, 1,000 Neocretans
under Zelys the Gortynian, and 500 Lydian javelineers and 1,000 Cardaces
(Kardakes) under Lysimachus the Gaul. Four thousand horse under Antipater, the
nephew of the King and 2,000 under Themison formed the cavalry and 102 war
elephants of Aryan Indian stock marched under Philip and Myischos.
Ptolemaic Army:
Ptolemy had just ended a major recruitment and retraining plan with the help of
many mercenary generals. His forces consisted of 3,000 Hypaspists under
Eurylochus the Magnesian (the Agema), 2,000 peltasts under Socrates the
Boeotian, 25,000 Macedonian Phalangites under Andromachus the Aspendian and
Ptolemy, the son of Thraseas, and 8,000 Greek mercenaries under Phoxidas the
Achaean, and 2,000 Cretan under Cnopias of Allaria and 1,000 Neocretan archers
under Philon the Cnossian. He had another 3,000 Libyans under Ammonius the
Barcian and 20,000 Egyptians under his chief minister Sosibius trained in the
Macedonian way. These Egyptians were trained to fight alongside the
Macedonians. Apart from these he also employed 4,000 Thracians and Gauls from
Egypt and another 2,000 from Europe under Dionysius the Thracian.[1] His
Household Cavalry (tis aulis) numbered 700 men and the local (egchorioi) and
Libyan horse, another 2,300 men, had as appointed general Polycrates of Argos.
Those from Greece and the mercenaries were led by Echecrates the Thessalian.
Ptolemy's force was accompanied by 73 elephants of the African stock. According
to Polybius, Ptolemy had 70,000 infantry, 5,000 cavalry, and 73 war elephants
and Antiochus 62,000 infantry, 6,000 cavalry, and 102 elephants.
War elephants:
This is the only known battle in which African and Asian elephants were used
against each other. Due to Polybius' descriptions of Antiochus' Asian elephants
(Elephas maximus), brought from India, as being larger and stronger than
Ptolemy's African elephants, it had once been theorized that Ptolemy's
elephants were in fact the African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis), a
close relative to the African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana) – a
typical African bush elephant would tower over an Asian one, meaning that the
smaller forest elephant would be a better fit with Polybius' descriptions.
However recent DNA research has revealed that most likely, Ptolemy's elephants
were in fact Loxodonta africana, albeit culled from a population of more
diminutive African bush elephants still found in Eritrea today. Another
possibility is that Ptolemy utilized the now extinct North African elephants
(Loxodonta africana pharaoensis). Much smaller than their Indian or Bush
cousins, members of this subspecies were typically around 8-foot high at the
shoulder. Regardless of origin, according to Polybius, Ptolemy's African
elephants could not bear the smell, sound, and sight of their Indian
counterparts. The Indian's greater size and strength easily routed the
Africans.
Battle:
After five days of skirmishing, the two kings decided to array their troops for
battle. Both placed their Phalangites in the center. Next to them they fielded
the lightly armed and the mercenaries in front of which they placed their
elephants and even further in the wings their cavalry. They spoke to their
soldiers, took their places in the lines – Ptolemy in his left and
Antiochus in his right wing – and the battle commenced. In the beginning
of the battle, the elephant contingents on the wings of both armies moved to
charge. Ptolemy's diminutive African elephants retreated in panic before the
impact with the larger Indians and ran through the lines of friendly infantry
arrayed behind them, causing disorder in their ranks. At the same time,
Antiochus had led his cavalry to the right, rode past the left wing of the
Ptolemaic elephants charging the enemy horse. The Ptolemaic and Seleucid
phalanxes then engaged. However, while Antiochus had the Argyraspides,
Ptolemy's Macedonians were bolstered by the Egyptian phalanx. At the same time,
the right wing of Ptolemy was retreating and wheeling to protect itself from
the panicked elephants. Ptolemy rode to the center encouraging his phalanx to
attack, Polybius tells us "with alacrity and spirit". The Ptolemaic
and Seleucid phalanxes engaged in a stiff and chaotic fight. On the Ptolemaic
far right, Ptolemy's cavalry was routing their opponents. Antiochus routed the
Ptolemaic horse posed against him and pursued the fleeing enemy en masse,
believing to have won the day, but the Ptolemaic phalanxes eventually drove the
Seleucid phalanxes back and soon Antiochus realized that his judgment was
wrong. Antiochus tried to ride back, but by the time he rode back, his troops
were routed and could no longer be regrouped. The battle had ended. After the
battle, Antiochus wanted to regroup and make camp outside the city of Raphia
but most of his men had already found refuge inside and he was thus forced to
enter it himself. Then he marched to Gaza and asked Ptolemy for the customary
truce to bury the dead, which he was granted. According to Polybius, the
Seleucids suffered a little under 10,000 infantry dead, about 300 horse, and 5
elephants, and 4,000 men were taken prisoner. The Ptolemaic losses were 1,500
infantry, 700 horse, and 16 elephants. Most of the Seleucids' elephants were
taken by the Ptolemies.
Aftermath:
Ptolemy's victory secured the province of Coele-Syria for Egypt, but it was
only a respite; at the Battle of Panium in 200 BC Antiochus defeated the army
of Ptolemy's young son, Ptolemy V Epiphanes and recaptured Coele Syria and
Judea. Ptolemy owed his victory in part to having a properly equipped and
trained native Egyptian phalanx, which for the first time formed a large
proportion of his phalangites, thus ending his manpower problems. 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 Ankhmakis, who created a separate kingdom that lasted nearly
twenty years. The battle of Raphia marked a turning-point in Ptolemaic history.
The native Egyptian element in 2nd-century Ptolemaic administration and culture
grew in influence, driven in part by Egyptians having played a major role in
the battle and in part by the financial pressures on the state aggravated[8] 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.] Some biblical commentators see this battle
as being the one referred to in Daniel 11:11, where it says, "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."
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