well, i've never had any hatred for the ptolies, in fact i like them better than the AS (but then again, I am playing as Saba)

I think it's fairly easy to stop the 'Yellow fever' if you can take all of arabia, and then cut off the choke point around syria and israel. I'd prefer to side with the Ptolies, and maybe give them something in india, but not much more than that for help.