Arsinoe, the wife and sister of Ptolemy…

Arsinoe, the wife and sister of Ptolemy IV Philopater, ruler of the Hellenistic kingdom of Egypt, in 210 bears him a successor.

Ptolemy maintains peaceful relations with the neighboring kingdom to the south.

He retains a number of islands in the Aegean, but has refused to become embroiled in the wars of the Greek states, in spite of honors granted him.

He has avoided involvement in local struggles in Syria also, despite the attempts of his corrupt minister Sosibius to embroil Egypt there. (Polybius, the Greek historian, credits Ptolemy's debauched and corrupt character, rather than his diplomatic acumen, in having kept him clear of foreign entanglements.)