Rosetta Stone decree

The Rosetta Stone decree, or the Decree of Memphis, is a Ptolemaic decree most notable for its bilingual and tri-scriptual nature, which enabled the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs. Issued by a council of priests confirming the royal cult of Ptolemy V in 196 BC at Memphis, it was written in Egyptian hieroglyphs, Egyptian Demotic and Ancient Greek. It mentions the Egyptian rebellion against the Greek rulers, otherwise known only through Greek sources and remains of graffiti. Context The native Egyptian population at home was treated as second-class citizens by the Greek rulers and Greek imperialists, while the economy had suffered because of the wars. Seleucids, for example, won over the previously Ptolemaic-ruled territory of Coele-Syria, including Judaea, after the Battle of Panium (198 BC), while other territories were divided between Antiochus III the Great and Philip V of Macedon, who had seized several islands and cities in Caria and Thrace. During the reign of Ptolemy IV, there was a long-standing revolt led by Horwennefer and by his successor Ankhwennefer, which had begun in the south of Egypt. These were still ongoing when the young Ptolemy V was officially crowned at Memphis at the age of 12 (seven years after the start of his reign). Egyptian cities joining the rebellion had faced economic and political consequences, such as the closure of ports, evidence has shown. Ptolemy V Epiphanes reigned from 204 to 181 BC, the son of Ptolemy IV Philopator and his wife and sister Arsinoe. He had become ruler at the age of five after the sudden death of both of his parents, who were murdered in a conspiracy that involved Ptolemy IV's mistress Agathoclea, according to contemporary sources. The conspirators effectively ruled Egypt as Ptolemy V's guardians until a revolt broke out two years later under general Tlepolemus, when Agathoclea and her family were lynched by a mob in Alexandria. Tlepolemus, in turn, was replaced as guardian in 201 BC by Aristomenes of Alyzia, who was chief minister at the time of the Memphis decree. Text The text as recorded on the Rosetta Stone is considered the most complete of any of the surviving stelae, as it preserves the inscription in three scripts and two languages. The first script is Egyptian hieroglyphs, the second is Demotic, and the third is Greek capitals. Only parts of the last fourteen lines of hieroglyphs remain; these correspond to the last twenty-eight lines of Greek text which is also damaged.