Ptolemy IV Philopator

4th Pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt (r. 221–204 BC)

book about persecution of the Jews in Ptolemaic Egypt

217 BCE battle

thumb|The tessarakonteres, 1858 illustration Tessarakonteres (, "forty-rowed"), or simply "forty", was a very large catamaran galley reportedly built in the Hellenistic period by Ptolemy IV Philopator of Egypt. It was described by a number of ancient sources, including a lost work by Callixenus of Rhodes and surviving texts by Athenaeus and Plutarch. According to these descriptions, supported by modern research by Lionel Casson, the enormous size of the vessel made it impractical and it was built only as a prestige vessel, rather than an effective warship. The name "forty" refers not to the nu

ancient inscribed stone stela dating from ancient Egypt