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How did the Roman envoy Popillius Laenas force Antiochus IV to leave Egypt?
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Ptolemaic dynasty
Head of a queen, marble sculpture possibly made in Egypt, Ptolemaic period (305β30 bce); in the Brooklyn Museum, New York. 14 Γ 12 Γ 11.5 cm.
In 168 BCE, while the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes was camped outside Alexandria, the Roman ambassador Gaius Popillius Laenas delivered an ultimatum demanding that he immediately evacuate Egypt and Cyprus.1
When Antiochus asked for time to consider the demand, Popillius used his walking stick to draw a circle in the earth around the king. He insisted that Antiochus provide an unequivocal answer before stepping out of the circle. Faced with this public humiliation and the threat of Roman intervention, the king agreed to comply and withdrew his forces, effectively reestablishing the status quo.1