À partir de IIIᵉ siècle av. J.-C.
African Red Sea coast, near Suakin
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
Ptolemais epi Theras, or “Ptolemais at the Hunting-Ground,” was an early Ptolemaic settlement and base for elephant hunting on the African coast of the Red Sea. Founded under Ptolemy Philadelphos near Suakin, it supported the dynasty’s effort to obtain African elephants for military use and formed part of a wider network extending toward Adulis and the Bab el-Mandeb.
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Le récit
Ptolemais epi Theras was founded under Ptolemy Philadelphos on the African coast of the Red Sea. Its name, translated as “Ptolemais at the Hunting-Ground,” reflects the strategic purpose assigned to the settlement. The site was located near Suakin, in a region used by the Ptolemies to obtain African elephants.
The foundation belonged to a wider program of Red Sea exploration, coastal navigation, and resource acquisition. Ptolemaic rulers sought elephants because access to Indian elephants had been restricted by the rival Seleukid kingdom of Syria. The African coast therefore became a zone of military and commercial activity linked to the needs of the Egyptian monarchy.
Under Ptolemy III Euergetes, elephant-hunting operations expanded southward toward Adulis and eventually beyond the Bab el-Mandeb. Ptolemais epi Theras thus represented an early fixed base in a coastal system that supplied elephants, ivory, and access to Red Sea trade.
À partir de IIIᵉ siècle av. J.-C.
African Red Sea coast, near Suakin
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
Ptolemais epi Theras, or “Ptolemais at the Hunting-Ground,” was an early Ptolemaic settlement and base for elephant hunting on the African coast of the Red Sea. Founded under Ptolemy Philadelphos near Suakin, it supported the dynasty’s effort to obtain African elephants for military use and formed part of a wider network extending toward Adulis and the Bab el-Mandeb.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
Ptolemais epi Theras was founded under Ptolemy Philadelphos on the African coast of the Red Sea. Its name, translated as “Ptolemais at the Hunting-Ground,” reflects the strategic purpose assigned to the settlement. The site was located near Suakin, in a region used by the Ptolemies to obtain African elephants.
The foundation belonged to a wider program of Red Sea exploration, coastal navigation, and resource acquisition. Ptolemaic rulers sought elephants because access to Indian elephants had been restricted by the rival Seleukid kingdom of Syria. The African coast therefore became a zone of military and commercial activity linked to the needs of the Egyptian monarchy.