East. Internal dissent and rebellions weakened the Ptolemies over time. In particular, the power of the monarchy waned, and the influence of aristocrats of high standing in Alexandria grew, as did the power of Egyptian nativist movements. Ptolemy V seemed to possibly be intending to raise funds to finance an attempt to reclaim Coele-Syria, but died unexpectedly in 180 BC; in the paranoid atmosphere of the era, many assumed he had been poisoned, perhaps by courtiers who wished to keep the peace and avoid taxes or levies to finance a war, or because they preferred a young king and regent who would be easier to manipulate. Cleopatra, the regent, favored the peace faction at court, whether because she agreed a war made no sense, or because of lingering loyalties to the Seleucid royal family she descended from. Cleopatra I died in 176 BC, but her eldest son Ptolemy VI Philometor was still only 10 years old, necessitating a continued regency. Eulaeus and Lenaeus, a eunuch and a slave, became the two regents of the young king of Egypt, likely as a compromise between the relevant Egyptian factions who could not bear to see a rival on the throne who might have the backing and lineage to claim it themselves. Under the regents, the young Ptolemy VI was married to his sister Cleopatra II and she was declared a co-ruler. Sixth War The causes of the new conflict are obscure. Relations declined between the two powers, with both sending emissaries to Rome (then bogged down in the Third Macedonian War) asking for military support against the other before the war even started. In 170 BC, Ptolemy's younger sibling Ptolemy VIII Physcon was declared a co-ruler as well in order to bolster the unity of Egypt; the three siblings ranged from 10 to 16 years of age. While the causes are still not entirely clear, Ptolemaic regents Eulaeus and Lenaeus seem to have instigated the formal declaration of war on Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes. This was possibly out of a desire to find a unifying issue to rally the state around, possibly due to political gains in the pro-war faction, and likely influenced by a vast misunderstanding of how easy it would be to win such a war. Antiochus IV had gotten word of Egyptian preparations for war and was in Tyre in July and August 170 BC preparing his forces,