When the Ptolemaic family ruled Egypt, Egypt was not a maritime power, and in order to maintain its rule, especially to maintain the suppression of the Macedonian Antigonal dynasty, Egypt's diplomatic strategy has always been to support Epirus, Athens, Sparta, ......, and all the Greek city-states that rebelled against the Macedonians, so she had a strong navy.

In addition to supporting the Greek city-states, Egypt frequently competed with Seleucus over Asia Minor and Syria. If the suppression of Macedonia was political, the Ptolemaic family, who themselves came from Macedonia, knew that if there was another Alexander the Great in Macedonia, their rule in Egypt would collapse immediately, then the competition with Seleucus for Asia was because of the economy.

Egypt's resources are extremely monotonous, for example, Egypt has always lacked the timber needed to build palaces and ships, Lebanese cedars have been very popular in Egypt since the time of the pharaohs, and now, the forest resources of Lycia in Asia Minor are especially important to Egypt; Egypt is a large grain producer, but when the grain harvest is not good, it has to import grain from Palestine and Cyprus to solve the urgent need; The Syrian region also produces wine and high-quality olive oil, while Egypt has limited and poor olive oil production, and the country mainly produces vegetable oil.

In addition to resources, taxes are also a top priority. The dynasty's tax revenue came not only from Egypt itself, but also from its dependencies outside Egypt. Orchards, vineyards, olive groves, land, forests, fisheries, animal husbandry, and handicrafts in Syria and Asia Minor were to pay taxes to the empire; In addition, there are trade tariffs between the three continents of Europe, Asia and Africa, spices, ivory, and precious stones shipped from Africa and Asia to Europe; Olive oil, wine, herbs, lead, tin, copper from Europe to Asia and Africa.

Egypt had not only temples but also countless officials, and the Egyptian army was almost entirely composed of mercenaries, and paying these commissions was a huge expense. Macedonia had already taken control of the city-states of the Greek islands a hundred years earlier, and Alexander's expeditionary force included many Greek soldiers, so it was not difficult for Macedonia to regain control of Greece after Alexander. If Egypt wants to suppress Macedonia, it can only support Epirus, Athens, and Sparta with real money.

When Pyrrhus (319-272 BCE), king of Epirus, became the son-in-law of Ptolemy II, it cost money to support him in seizing the throne, it cost money to support him in his war with Macedonia, and it cost money to support him in fighting the Romans to achieve a 'Pyrrhic victory';

Egypt was an autocratic empire, but Ptolemy claimed to be very much in favor of democracy and would fight for the independence of the Greek city-states. It's unbelievable that Egypt had to spend a lot of money to build a rabbit hole to fit the city-states of Athens and Sparta. In a city-state like Athens, which was short of food self-sufficiency, they fought against the Macedonians whenever Egyptian grain arrived, and they stopped resisting whenever Egypt ran out of food.

In addition, the Carthaginians to the west needed proper support. Although the two countries belonged to the east and west of the Mediterranean, Egypt needed horses from Sicily, silver from Spain, and tin from Britain. During the First Punic War, Carthage asked Ptolemy II to lend 2,000 tarrants (12 million dramak), but Carthage lost.

Political goals require strong economic support, and the lack of abundant money makes it difficult for Egypt to suppress Macedonia, its own army and empire. Tariffs are crucial in the economy, and spices are crucial in tariffs. The Chuni occupation of spice was a blow to Egypt, and Ptolemy III did not know how much it would cost him, but he knew that it was tantamount to losing the war in Syria.

"Your Majesty, if the Chuni control the spice trade, then, then ......" In the city of Alexandria Zoya, the noble and elegant royal palace, Ptolemy III sat on a snow-white plaster chair and looked at the aged Chancellor of the Exchequer, Apollonius. Apollonius, the Chancellor of the Empire from his father's time, knew best the benefits of spices.

“… So... Tariffs will cost at least three thousand five hundred tarrants. So said Apollonius, which is more than twenty million dramaks. This is equivalent to a quarter of the royal court's revenue......"

Apollonius spat out a staggering number that scared Ptolemy III, but the problem was more than that. Apollonius added: "If they had brought Indian goods to our seas as well, the losses would have been even greater. Perhaps, maybe they will also go to Nubia, where there are gold mines, if their envoys see... Met ......."

Apollonius was talking about the Kush king Anec Hamani, who had become a vassal state of Egypt, and if the Chuni traded with the Kush and sold them armor and weapons, it would certainly be a disaster.

"Your Majesty, maybe we can negotiate with the Chuni." The retinue officer Ciceos suggested. He was Jewish, and Egypt's government economy was inseparable from the support of Jewish merchants, and Ptolemy had always treated Jews well.

"Your Majesty, news came last year that the Chuni people have taken control of the pepper." Chief Minister Lysimachus dismissed the suggestion of negotiations with Siseos in a single sentence. "What is certain is that the merchant ships have been seized since their envoys refused to prostrate themselves to Hermias. Last year their fleet blockaded the Persian Gulf, and earlier this year pursued Seleucid merchant ships at Lucky Arabia (a port on the northern shore of the Gulf of Aden, between Muha and the port of Kanna).

Sources came from Bactria that Chuni was engaged in a large-scale war with Chinni, with more than a million soldiers on both sides. After the war with the Seleucids, the Chuni lost their trading partners, and the war left them in need of a lot of money, which only spices could meet their needs, and the Chuni apparently wanted to control the spice trade. ”

"Impossible, impossible, this can't be ......" Another advantage of controlling trade routes is that they are extremely well informed. There were Egyptian merchant ships in the Black Sea in the north and the Red Sea in the south, and news of Bactria and India all converged on Alexandria Zoya. Just remembering something, Ptolemy III kept saying that it was impossible.

"Your Majesty!" Lysimachos Road. "If we don't immediately support the Meine in retaking Shebwo and Timna, we will lose not only spices, but all goods from the East."

"I would like to remind you that the thunderous weapons of the Chuni are irresistible, and this is the main reason for the defeat of the Maiin." Docetheos Road. "If we can't discover the secrets......"

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