The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites
Richard Stillwell, William L. MacDonald, Marian Holland McAllister, Stillwell, Richard, MacDonald, William L., McAlister, Marian Holland, Ed.

PTOLEMAIS THERON or EPITHEROS (Aquiq or Trinkitat) Sudan.

A port on the W coast of the Red Sea, S of Berenice. It was founded by the Ptolemies (Strab. 17.768-71) in the Land of the Troglodytes as a hunting preserve, especially for elephants. Ptolemy II appears to have been the first to train African elephants for war. At the battle of Raphia (217 B.C.), Ptolemy IV had 73 African elephants against the 102 Indian elephants of the victorious Antiochos the Great. Ptolemais Theron served also as a sea port to Meroe.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

M. A. Kammerer, La Mer Rouge, L'Abyssinie et L'Arabie depuis L'Antiquité (1929).

S. SHENOUDA