Ruler
Ptolemy V Epiphanes
The king honoured on the Rosetta Stone
204 – 180 BCE
Regnal years after Hölbl (2001).
Biography
He came to the throne as a child at a time of revolt in the south. He was crowned at Memphis in 196 BCE, and the priests gathered there issued a decree in his honour, copied on the Rosetta Stone.
Key facts
Certainty: Established
A council of priests at Memphis issued a decree in 196 BCE honouring Ptolemy V; this is the text carved on the Rosetta Stone.
- Richard Parkinson (1999) “Cracking Codes: The Rosetta Stone and Decipherment” British Museum Press
- The British Museum, London “The Rosetta Stone, EA 24” britishmuseum.org